Examples

Italian:
Learn Italian in 21 DAYS!
A Practical Guide To Make Italian Look
Easy! EVEN For Beginners
Table Of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Italian Alphabet
Chapter 2: Pronunciation Guide
Chapter 3: Common Italian Phrases
Introductions
Booking a Hotel Room
Ordering Food in a Restaurant
Shopping
Asking for Directions
Chapter 4: Italian Numbers
Chapter 5: Months and Days
Chapter 6: Telling Time, Dates, Year, and Century
Chapter 7: Colors in Italian
Chapter 8: Forming Sentences
Italian Negation
Chapter 9: Capitalization and Punctuation
Capitalization
Punctuation
Chapter 10: Nouns (Nomi)
Nouns with Totally Distinct Forms for Masculine and Feminine
Chapter 11: Articles (Gli Articoli)
Definite Articles (Articoli determinativi)
Chapter 12: Indefinite Articles (Articoli indeterminativi)
Partitive articles (Articoli partitivi)
Chapter 13 Pronouns (Pronomi)
Chapter 14: Adjectives (Aggettivi)
Placement of Adjectives
Declension of Adjectives
Chapter 15: Invariable adjectives (aggettivi invariabili)
Chapter 16: Verbs
Chapter 17: Verb Conjugations
The Present Tense (Il Tempo Presente)
The Verbs Avere and Essere
The Past Participle Form (Il Participio Passato)
The Present Perfect (Il Passato Prossimo)
Chapter 18: The Simple Future Tense (Il Futuro Semplice)
Chapter 19: The Adverbs (Gli Avverbi)
Chapter 20: Prepositions (Prepozioni)
Chapter 21: Vocabulary
Conclusion
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Introduction
This book contains 21 highly-instructive chapters on the fundamentals of Italian grammar
and communication strategically developed to respond to the needs of travellers,
professionals, business owners, students, and self-learners for a learning material that will
help them speak the language fluently and confidently in a few weeks time.
It offers a comprehensive yet straightforward discussion of the essential aspects of Italian
grammar and provides the tools to help accelerate learning, enhance comprehension, and
increase retention. It aims to provide a complete resource for students and language
enthusiasts who prefer to learn the language at their own pace.
The first chapters are devoted to learning the basics: pronunciation, numbers, months, days,
years, telling time, colors, and useful phrases for different occasions and daily
conversations. The succeeding chapters provide an intensive discussion of grammar rules
that new and intermediate students should know by heart to be able to communicate
successfully in Italian.
Every chapter provides learning aids, charts, tables, and examples to make learning as
easy as possible. The final chapter provides a listing of useful Italian terms.
Chapter 1: The Italian Alphabet
There are twenty-one letters in the Italian base alphabet and five additional letters for words
of foreign origin (j, k, w, x, and y).
Letter
Letter
Name
Letter
Sound
A,a
B,b
C,c
D,d
E,e
F,f
G,g
H,h
I,i
L,l
M,m
a
bi
ci
di
e
effe
gi
acca
i
elle
emme
AH
BEE
CHEE
DEE
AY
EF-FAY
JEE
AHK-KA
EE
EL-LAY
EM-MAY
N,n
O,o
P,p
Q,q
R,r
S,s
T,t
U,u
V,v
Z,z
enne
0
pi
cu
erre
esse
ti
u
EN-NAY
OH
PEE
COO
AIR-RAY
ES-SAY
TEE
OO
VOO (or)
vu (or vi)
VEE
zeta
ZAY-TAH
Additional letters
Letter
Pronunciation
Name
Letter
Sound
English
Sound
EE
LOONGA
KAHPAH
DOPEPEEAH
VOO
j
English
pronunciation
i lunga
k
English
pronunciation
cappa
w
English
pronunciation
doppia
vu
x
English
pronunciation
ics
EEX
examine
y
English
pronunciation
ipsilon
EEPSEELONE
yes
jump
crack
well
Chapter 2: Pronunciation Guide
Italian is a romance language that is relatively easy to learn. A phonetic language, Italian
words are usually spoken as they are written. This section is devoted to the essential aspects
of Italian pronunciation. You will learn how each letter is pronounced individually and in
combination with other letters. You will be introduced to stress and accent marks as well as
elision, which are indispensable in spoken Italian.
The Vowel Sounds
Italian vowels are short and sharp and should not be slurred. There are 5 vowels but 7
vowel sounds. The vowels “a”, “i”, and “u” are always pronounced in the same manner
while “e” and “o” are pronounced in two ways: open and closed. The pronunciation is
always open when the vowel is stressed and it is closed when the vowel is unstressed.
Vowel Sounds
Vowel Sound
English
Sound
Examples
a
e
open
closed
i
o
open
closed
u
long like a amore (love),
in "father"
sala (hall)
bene (well),
like e in
bello
pet
(beautiful)
bere (to
like a in
drink), fede
pain
(faith)
like ee in
pino (pine),
meet
libro (book)
posta (mail),
like o in
moda
cost
(fashion)
like o in
sole (sun),
boat
nome (name)
like oo in
uno (one),
boot
lungo (long)
Dipthongs (Dittonghi)
Dipthongs are two vowels that combine to create a single sound. Theoretically, Italian
vowels are intended to be pronounced individually. The swiftness of speech, however, tend
to result in dipthongs and glides in unaccented vowels.
ai,
ae
ao,
au
ei
eu
ia
ie
io
iu
oi
like 'i' in
"eye"
like the "ow" in
"cow"
like 'ay'
in "say"
like the 'eu'
similar in the
Spanish "Europa"
like
"yah"
like "ye"
in yes
like "yo"
like "yoo" or the
'ew' in "few"
like 'oy'
in "toy"
like the 'wo' in
bailare bahy-lahray (to dance)
auto AHW-toh
(car)
sei sAHY-ee
(six)
pleurite (pleurisy)
bianco bYAHnkoh (white)
lieto lYEH-toh
(happy)
fiore fYOH-reh
(flower)
piu YOO (more)
poi pOY
(then,later)
nuovo nWOH-
uo
"won't"
voh (new)
Tripthongs (Trittonghi)
A tripthong is a sequence of three vowels with one sound. Tripthongs are usually a
combination of a dipthong and an unstressed “i” at the end.
Examples:
miei
tuoi
suoi
buoi
mYEY
tWOY
sWOY
bWOY
mine
yours
his
oxen
Consonants (Consonanti)
Sound
b
c
d
f
g
h
English
Examples
Sound
pronounced like
the English sound
like the
before
culla (cradle),
"k" in
a, o, u
così (so)
car
like the
before
cena (supper),
"ch" in
e or i
aceto (vinegar)
chest
like the English "d"
but harsher and
more
explosive but no
denaro (money),
puff of air or
data (date)
aspiration
pronounced like
the English sound
like the
gomma
before
"g" in
(eraser), grande
a, o, u
garbage
(great)
before
like the
gente (people),
e or i "j" in jog
pagina (page)
always
ho (I have),
silent
hotel (hotel)
l
m
n
p
similar to "l" in like
but sharper
pronounced like
the English sound
pronounced like
the English sound
like the English
sound but
pronounced
without aspiration
q
r
s
t
olio (oil), luna
(moon)
pasto (meal),
ponte (bridge)
always comes
before "u" and the
combination
is pronounced like
questo (this),
the "qu" in quest
quadro (picture)
a trilled
ora (now),
"r"
orologio (watch)
before b,d,g,l,m,n,r,
and v and between
casa (house),
vowels, like the "z"
francese
in zoo
(French)
tesoro
in other cases, like
(treasure),
the "s" in sun
susina (plum)
approximates the
English "t" sound
without
escaping a breath
v
z
pronounced like
the English sound
in some cases,
voiced like the "ds"
in beds
sometimes, voices
like the "ts" in
assets
testa (head),
contento (glad)
pranzo (lunch),
zebra (zebra)
negozio(store),
pizza (pizza)
Consonantic Digraphs
Consonantic digraphs are consonant combinations that create a single sound. Following are
digraphs in Italian:
gh
gli
gn
ch
sc
always followed
by "e" or "i",
sounds like
the "g"
in go
approximates the
"ll" in millions
approximates the
"ny" in canyon
always followed
by "e" or "i",
sounds like
the "k"
in kite
like
before a,
"sk" in
o, u
ask
like
before e
"sh" in
or i
shell
always followed
maghi mah-GEE
(magicians)
famiglia fahmee-Lyah
(family)
bagno bah-NYO
(bath)
perché payrKay (because)
pesca pay-Skah
(peach)
pesce pay-Shay
(fish)
sch
by "e" or "i",
sounds like
the
English
"sk"
fiaschi fee-yahSkee (flasks)
Double Consonants
Except for the letters “h” and “q”, all Italian consonants can be doubled to create a stronger,
prolonged sound. In the case of a double “s”, it is unvoiced. A double “z”, has no effect at
all. Doubling the consonants b, c, d, g, p, or t creates a stronger stop while doubling the
consonants f, l, m, n, r, s, or v results in a prolonged sound.
Here are words with double consonants:
albicocca
anno
babbo
basso
bello
bistecca
cavalletto
espresso
evviva
ferro
ahl-beekoK-Kah
ahN-Noh
bahB-Boh
bahS-Soh
behL-Loh
bees-tayKKah
kah-vahLLayT-Toh
ays-prehSSoh
ayV-Veevah
fehR-Roh
apricot
year
dad
short
beautiful
beef steak
easel
espresso
coffee
hurrah
iron
fetta
mamma
pennello
ragazzo
spaghetti
tavolozza
fayT-Tah
mahM-Mah
payn-nehLLoh
rah-gahTTSO
Spah-ghayTTee
tah-voh-loTTsah
slice
mama
paint brush
boy
spaghetti
palette
Stress and Accent Marks
In Italian, only the vowels have stress marks and the accent or stress usually falls on the
penultimate syllable. There are however, many exceptions. When the accent is on the last
syllable, the vowel is marked with an accent.
The acute accent (é, ó) or accento acuto are used to indicate stress on closed vowels while
the grave accent (à, è, ì, ò, ù) is used to indicate stress on open vowels. There are many
instances, however, that closed vowels are marked with a grave accent. The grave accent (`)
can be found over all vowels but the acute accent (´) may only be found in “e” and “o”.
Here are examples of Italian words which are stressed on the penultimate syllable:
padre
uomo
nipote
telefonare
parlare
studiare
foglia
signorina
amico
Milano
PAH-dray
WO-moh
nee-POH-tay
tay-lay-foNAH-ray
pahr-LAH-ray
stu-DYAH-ray
FOH-lyah
see-nyohREE-nah
ah-MEE-ko
mee-LAH-no
father
man
nephew
telephone
to speak
to study
leaf
Miss
friend
Milan
Words with accent on the last syllable:
An accent is required if the stress falls on the final syllable. Failure to place the stress can
lead to misunderstanding in cases where there are similarly spelled words with different
meaning.
Here are words with an accent mark on the final syllable:
città
caffè
però
tassì
lunedì
venerdì
perché
cioè
virtù
cheet-TAH
kahf-FEH
peh-ROH
tahs-SEE
loo-neh-DEE
vay-nayrDEE
pehr-KEY
chow-EH
veer-TOO
city
coffee
but
taxi
Monday
Friday
why, because
namely
virtue
In some instances, similarly-spelled words are distinguished only by the placement of an
accent mark.
regìa
rehjyhah
règia
rehjah"
direction of a
movie /play
royal
àncora
ancòra
ahnkohrah
ahnkohrah
anchor
again, more
lavàti
làvati
lahvahtih
lahvahtih
washed
wash yourself
capitàno
càpitano
kahpytahnoh
kahpytahnoh
captain
they happen
là
la
LAH
LAH
there
the/ it/ her
dà
da
DAH
DAH
gives
from
è
e
AY
EH
is
and
sé
se
SEH
SAY
himself/herself
if
sì
si
SEE
SEE
yes
oneself
ne
NAY
some
né
NEH
nor
Several words ending with –che (pronounced as KAY) are written with an accent on the last
vowel.
giacché
perché
benché
poiché
sicché
jahk-KAY
payr-KAY
bayng-KAY
pohy-KAY
seek-KAY
since
why, because
despite
because
therefore, so
Word Elision (Elisione)
Letters in between words will often be dropped to facilitate smooth pronunciation. This is a
language phenomenon known as elision. When a word that ends in a vowel is followed by a
word that starts with a vowel, the final vowel of the first word is often dropped and
replaced with an apostrophe. In such cases, the vowel pronunciation and the stress are
unchanged.
Examples:
the beloved
the friend
where is
the automobile
this air
a university
of Italy
all is quiet
it will be good
la amorosa> l’amorosa
lo amico > l’amico
dove è > dov’è
la automobile>l’automobile
quelle aria> quell’aria
una università >
un’università
di Italia>d’Italia
tutto è silenzio > tutt’è
silenzio
Sarà al buono > sar’al
buono
The apostrophe may be omitted when masculine nouns and infinitives end with an “e”.
Hence:
To make love
Dr. Nardi
fare l'amore > far l'amore
dottore Nardi > dottor Nardi
Chapter 3: Common Italian Phrases
Now that you have a good grasp of Italian pronunciation, it’s time to learn common greetings
and useful phrases to make daily conversations a breeze. Following are key phrases you can
use for different occasions:
Greetings/Common expressions:
Buongiorno!
Ciao!
Salve!
Arrivederci! (ahree-vuh-dehrchee)
Ciao!
Buonpomeriggio!
Hello! / Good morning!
(formal)
Hello!/Good-bye!
(informal)
Hello! / Good-bye!
(neutral)
Goodbye! (formal)
Hello!/Good-bye!
(informal)
Good afternoon!
Good afternoon!/Good
Buonasera!
evening! (formal)
Buonanotte!
Come stai?
Bene, grazie.
Molto bene.
Buona giornata!
Stai (stia) attento!
A presto.
Si.
No.
Per favore.
Mi scusi.
Mi dispiace.
Non capisco.
Meraviglioso!
Aspetta!
Torno subito.
Ripeti, per favore.
Quanti anni hai?
Ci sentiamo dopo.
Buon compleanno!
Congratulazioni!
Buon Natale!
Felice Anno
Nuovo!
Good night! (informal)
How are you?
Fine, thank you.
Very well.
Have a nice day!
Take care!
See you later.
Yes.
No.
Please.
Excuse me.
I’m sorry.
I don’t understand.
Wonderful!
Wait!
I’ll be right back.
Please repeat.
How old are you?
I’ll talk to you later.
Happy Birthday!
Congratulations!
Merry Christmas!
Happy New Year!
Buona Pasqua!
Buone vacanze!
Buon viaggio!
Buona fortuna!
Buon appetito!
Ovviamente.
Questo dipende
Io non lo so
Io penso di sì.
Io non penso.
Io suppongo di sì.
Mi è indifferente.
Non importa.
Con piacere
É vero
Chi?
Che cosa?
Quando?
Dove?
Perchè?
Quale?
Come?
Quanto?
Quanti?
Happy Easter!
Have a good holiday!
Have a safe journey!
Good luck!
Enjoy the meal!
Of course.
That depends
I don’t know
I think so.
I don’t think so.
I suppose so.
I don’t mind.
It doesn’t matter.
wth pleasure
True
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
Which?
How?
How Much?
How Many?
Introductions
To introduce yourself:
Mi chiamo (say your
name) .
Sono _______.
My name is (your
name) .
I’m (your name) .
To introduce someone:
Ti presento il mio
amico ( name ) .
Ti presento la mia
amica (name) .
This is my (male)
friend _______.
This is my (female
friend _____.
To ask for the other person’s name:
Lei come si chiama?
(formal)
Come ti chiami?
(familiar)
What is your name?
What is your name?
After the introductions, it’s usual to express pleasure and appreciation.
1Pleased to meet
you!
Nice to meet you!
Piacere di
conoscerla!
Piacere!
Take note that the singular pronoun “you” in Italian has distinct forms for the formal and
informal speech. The formal form, “Lei”, is used to address a boss or a superior, older
people, and new acquaintances. The informal form “tu” and “voi”, its plural from, are used
in conversations with family, friends, and younger people.
Here are other common exchanges:
Come sta? (formal)
Come stai? (familiar)
Come va?
Bene, grazie.
Io sto bene, grazie.
Di dov'è Lei?
(formal)
Di dove sei?
(familiar)
Dove abiti? (singular)
Dove abitate?
(singular)
How are you?
How are you?
How are things
going?
Fine, thank you.
I’m good, thank you.
Where are you
from?
Where are you
from?
Where do you live?
Where do you live?
Describing Yourself
Mi chiamo ( your
name) .
Vengo da (country or
place of origin) .
Ho (age in years)
anni.
Il mio compleanno è il
My name is
______.
I’m from _______.
I’m ____ years old.
My birthday is
(day/month/year).
Ho (number) fratelli e
sorelle.
No, non ho fratelli e
sorelle.
Ho (number ) figli.
Sono sposato/
sposata.
Non sono
sposato/sposata.
Il mio indirizzo è (your
address) .
Il mio numero di
cellulare è (number) .
Il mio posta elettonica
è (e-mail address).
_____.
I have ___ siblings.
I have no siblings.
I have __ children.
I’m married.
I’m not married.
My address is
_______.
My cellphone
number is ___.
My e-mail address
is ____.
Booking a Hotel Room
Quanto costa la
camera?
Vorrei una camera
con ___.
letto matrimonial
bagno private
l’aria condizionata
terrazza
il frigorifero
la televisione
on angolo cottura
il telefono
l'acqua calda
bagno condiviso
How much is it for
the room?
I would like a room
with ___.
a double bed
private bathroom
air conditioning
terrace
refrigerator
television
with kitchenette
telephone
hot water
shared bathroom
Hotel terms:
la cassaforte
servizio sveglia
la chiave
l’ascensore
safe deposit box
wake-up call
key
elevator
il riscaldamento
il telecomando
il fax
la sveglia
il portacenere
le lenzuola
la coperta
l’asciugacapelli / il
fon
il guardaroba
la gruccia / la
stampella
l’acqua minerale
il ghiaccio
il cuscino
lo shampoo
il sapone
la toilette
la carta igienica
l’asciugamano
heat
remote control
fax
alarm clock
ash tray
sheets
blanket
blowdryer
closet
hanger
mineral water
ice
pillow
shampoo
soap
toilet
toilet paper
towel
Ordering Food in a Restaurant
Waiter: -> Cosa prende? -> (What would you like?)
Phrases you can use:
Vorrei _____. (I would like ______.)
Vorrei ordinare _____.
(I would like to order ____.)
the colazione
breakfast
the pranzo
lunch
cena
dinner
Drinks:
acqua
l'acqua natural
l'acqua leggermente
gassata
l'acqua gassata
il succo
vino
il vino rosso
il vino bianco
water
still water
slightly sparking
water
sparkling water
juice
wine
red wine
white wine
il vino rosé
birra
caffè
caffè latte
latte
tè
un tazza di caffè
Una tazza di tè
una bottiglia di vino
un bicchiere di acqua
rose wine
beer
coffee
coffee with milk.
milk
tea
a cup of coffee
a cup of tea
a bottle of wine
a glass of water
Meat:
Agnello
maiale
pollo
vitello
manzo
polpette
scaloppini
coniglio
trippa
la cotoletta
lamb
pork
chicken
veal
beef
meatballs
escalope
rabbit
tripe
cutlet
Seafood:
i gamberi
l'aragosta
i calamari
il granchio
pesce
le cozze
il baccalà
il pesce spada
la spigola
il polpo
prawns
lobster
squid
crab
fish
mussels
dried cod
swordfish
sea bass
octopus
Miscellaneous food items:
riso
antipasti
cioccolata
formaggio
fragola
frutta
gelato
insalata
pane
verdura
rice
appetizers
chocolate
cheese
strawberry
fruit
ice cream
salad
bread
vegetables
Side dishes:
insalata
insalata fresca
insalata di pollo
insalata mista
patate in insalata
salad
fresh salad
chicken salad
mixed salad
potato salad
Condiments:
sale
formaggio
pepe
sucherro
olio
olio di semi
olio d'oliva
aceto balsamico
aceto
salt
cheese
pepper
sugar
oil
vegetable oil
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
vinegar
After the meal:
Il conto, per favore. – (The bill, please.)
Restaurant Vocabulary:
la scodella
il tovagliolo
il tavolo
la sedia
il conto
la caraffa
la tazza
il piatto
la forchetta
il coltello
il cucchiaio
il cameriere
la cameriera
il menu
la mancia
the bowl
the napkin
the table
the chair
the check
the pitcher
the cup
the plate
the fork
the knife
the spoon
the waiter
the waitress
the menu
the tip
Shopping
Italy is a great place for shopping and Italians are appreciated all over the world for their
great sense of style. Here are important phrases you can use when shopping in Italianspeaking countries.
What the sales assistant usually say:
Posso aiutarla?
Cerca qualcosa?
Eccola.
Ha bisogno di altro?
Firmi qui per favore.
May I help you?
What would you
like?
Here it is.
Is that all?
Please sign here.
Phrases you can use:
Quanto costa?
Vorrei ______.
Sto cercando
_______.
How much is this?
I’d like _________.
I’m looking for
_______.
Do you have
Avete ______?
_______?
Posso provarla?
Lo prendo.
Li prendo.
E' troppo caro.
Che misura e'?
Can I try it on?
I’ll take it.
I’ll take them all.
It’s too expensive.
What size is it?
Clothing sizes:
ho la taglia ____
piccolo
medio
grande
stretto
largo
corto
lungo
il numero di scarpa
I wear size ___
small
medium
big, large
tight
wide
short
long
shoe size
A department store (grandi magazzino) or street markets (mercato) will usually have a
variety of stuff for shoppers. To look for specialty shops, you will find the following terms
useful:
il negozio
the store
alimentary
il supermercato
la pasticceria
la libreria
la ferramenta
il negozio di
abbigliamento
la farmacia
la profumeria
la gioielleria
il negozio di giocattoli
il negozio di articoli
sportive
La macelleria
l'ottico
Il negozio di scarpe
grocery store
supermarket
the pastry shop
book store
hardware store
clothes shop
the pharmacy
perfume shop
jewelry shop
toy shop
sports shop
butcher’s shop
the optical shop
shoe shop
Useful Shopping Terms:
l'entrata
l'uscita
orario di aperture
soldi
la cassa
offerta special
i saldi
entrance
exit
opening hours
money
cash desk
son special offer
sale (bargains)
aperto
chiuso
borsa
la carta de credito
open
closed
bag
credit card
Asking for Directions
Asking for and comprehending directions are important if you are in an unfamiliar place.
Here are phrases you can use to ask for information.
Mi scusi,
dov’è____ ?
Come si arriva
a___ ?
Potresti
aiutarmi?
Dov’è
l’autobus?
Dove sono i
tassì?
Dov’è l’uscita?
Dove si troval la
stazione?
E' qui vicino?
Mi potrebbe
portare a
____?
Excuse me,
where is_____?
How do I get
to___?
Can you help
me?
Where is the
bus?
Where are the
taxis?
Where is the
exit?
Where is the
train station?
Is it near here?
Could you take
me to ____?
Important terms and phrases:
Va sempre
diritto.
giri a destroy
giri a sinistra
a sinistra
a destra
Si va indietro
accanto a
verso
Attraversa
/Attraversi
_____
Segua/ Segui
_____
Vada/Vai_____
una cartina
davanti a
di qua
di fianco a
all'angolo
piazza
viale
città
Just go straight.
turn right
turn left
on the left
on the right
Go back
next to
towards
Cross
_______
Follow
_______
Go _______
map
in front of
over here
adjacent to
at the corner of
square
avenue
city, town
strada
entrata
nord
sud
ovest
est
l'autostrada
semaforo
la rotatoria
l'angolo
di fronte
vicino a
dietro
prima
dopo
verso il basso
verso in giù
verso l'alto
verso in su
E' molto vicino.
E' piuttosto
lontano.
stazione
aeroporto
indirizzo
in macchina
street, road
entrance
north
south
west
east
motorway
traffic lights
roundabout
corner
opposite
close to, near
behind
before
after
down
downwards
up
upwards
It is very near.
It is quite far.
station
airport
address
by car
a piedi
by foot
Common destinations:
il parco
il centro storico
il centro
commercial
la stazione di
polizia
l'agenzia di
viaggio
il centro città
il ristorante
il monument
i bagni pubblici
l'ospedale
il municipio
la periferia
il bar
il museo
the park
the historic
center
the shopping
center
the police
station
the travel
agency
the town center
the restaurant
the monument
the public
restrooms
the hospital
the town hall
the suburb
the bar
the museum
Transportation
When navigating around different places in Italy, you’ll need to know important Italian
phrases to take a taxi, ride a train, bus, or plane.
Taxi:
Dove posso
noleggiare un
taxi?
Mi porti a
(destination), per
favore.
Avanti.
Segua la strada.
Quanto costa la
tariffa?
Where can I
hire a taxi?
Take me to
______,
please.
Go straight on.
Follow the
street.
How much is
the fare?
Taxi Vocabulary:
il tassista
il tassametro
il posteggio di
taxi driver
taxi meter
taxi rank
taxi
la tariffa fissa
la tariffa
la tariffa diurnal
la tariffa
notturna
il cofano
fixed fare
fare
day fare
night fare
car boot
Train:
Ho bisogno
di un
biglietto di
sola andata
per
(destination)
per favore.
Mi dia un
biglietto di
ritorno per
(destination),
per favore.
Quando
I need a
single ticket
for
(destination)
please.
Please give
me a return
ticket for
(destination)
.
When does
it arrive
arriva lì?
here?
Devo
cambiare?
Quanto dura
il viaggio?
Do I have to
change?
How long is
the journey?
By Bus
Useful Phrases:
Dove si trova la
stazione degli
autobus?
Ci sono posti
liberi?
Questo posto è
occupato.
Dove è il bus
diretto a roma?
Quanto costa il
biglietto a
(destination) ?
Quando è l'
ultimo viaggio?
Where is the bus
station?
Are there
vacant seats?
This seat is
taken.
Where is the bus
bound for
Rome?
How much is
the fare to
(destination)?
When is the last
trip?
Transportation Vocabulary:
il viaggio
il bagaglio
journey
luggage
un blocchetto di
biglietti
il guidatore
dell'autobus
la linea
il biglietto
l'ufficio
informazioni
il viaggiatore
l'orario
il binario
la partenza
cambiare
l'ufficio
prenotazioni
la seconda
classe
non-fumatori
il posto
scendere
book of tickets
bus driver
line
Ticket
information
office
traveller
timetable
platform
departure
to change
booking office
second class
non-smoking
seat
to get off
Chapter 4: Italian Numbers
Cardinal Numbers
Italian numbers are written like most other European languages. A period is used instead of
a comma while a comma is used in place of a period. Hence, one hundred twenty five
thousand three hundred fifty and 30/100 will be written as 125.350,30. In addition, most
numbers are written in one word.
1
One
Uno
OO-noh
2
Two
Due
DOO-eh
3
Three
Tre
TREH
4
Four
Quattro
KWAHT-troh
5
Five
Cinque
6
Six
Sei
CHEENkweh
SEH-ee
7
Seven
Sette
SET-the
8
Eight
Otto
OHT-toh
9
Nine
Nove
NOH-veh
10
Ten
Dieci
dee-EH-chee
OON-dee-
11
Eleven
Undici
12
Twelve
Dodici
13
Thirteen
Tredici
14
Fourteen
Quattordici
15
Fifteen
Quindici
16
Sixteen
Sedici
17
Seventeen
Diciassette
18
Eighteen
diciotto
19
Nineteen
diciannove
20
Twenty
venti
21
twenty-one
ventuno
22
twenty-two
ventidue
23
twentythree
ventitré
24
twenty-four
ventiquattro
chee
DOH-deechee
TREH-deechee
kwaht-TORdee-chee
KWEENdee-chee
SEH-deechee
dee-chahsSET-teh
dee-CHOHTtoh
dee-chahnNOH-veh
VEN-tee
ven-TOOnoh
ven-teeDOO-eh
ven-teeTREH
ven-teeKWAHT-troh
ven-tee-
25
twenty-five
venticinque
26
twenty-six
ventisei
27
28
twentyseven
twentyeight
ventisette
ventotto
CHEENkweh
ven-teeSEH-ee
ven-tee-SETthe
ven-TOHTtoh
ven-teeNOH-veh
TREN-tah
29
twenty-nine
ventinove
30
thirty
trenta
40
forty
quaranta
50
fifty
cinquanta
60
sixty
sessanta
70
seventy
settanta
kwahRAHN-tah
cheenKWAHN-tah
ses-SAHNtah
set-TAHN-ta
80
eighty
ottanta
oht-TAHN-ta
90
ninety
Novanta
100
one hundred
cento
101
one hundred
one
centouno/
centuno
noh-VAHNtah
CHEN-toh
cheh-tohOOnoh/chehnTOO-noh
150
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1.000
1.001
1.200
one hundred
fifty
two
hundred
three
hundred
four
hundred
five
hundred
six hundred
seven
hundred
eight
hundred
nine
hundred
one
thousand
one
thousand
one
one
thousand
two
hundred
centocinquanta
duecento
trecento
quattrocento
cinquecento
Seicento
Settecento
Ottocento
Novecento
cheh-tohcheenKWAHN-tah
doo-ehCHEN-toh
treh-CHENtoh
kwaht-trohCHEN-toh
cheen-kwehCHEN-toh
seh-eeCHEN-toh
set-theCHEN-toh
oht-tohCHEN-toh
noh-vehCHEN-toh
Mille
MEEL-leh
Milleuno
meel-lehOO-noh
Milleduecento
meel-leh-dooeh-CHENtoh
2.000
10.000
two
thousand
ten
thousand
Duemila
Diecimila
15.000
fifteen
thousand
Quindicimila
100.000
one hundred
thousand
Centomila
1.000.000
one million
un milione
2.000.000
two million
due milioni
1.000
.000.000
one billion
un miliardo
doo-eh-MEElah
dee-eh-cheeMEE-lah
kween-deechee-MEElah
chen-tohmee-leh
OON meelee-OH-neh
DOO-eh
mee-lee-OHneh
OON meelee-ARE-doh
Ordinal Numbers
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th
14th
14th
15th
16th
17th
18th
19th
20th
21st
22nd
primo
secondo
terzo
quarto
quinto
sesto
settimo
ottavo
nono
decimo
undicesimo
dodicesimo
tredicesimo
quattordicesimo
quindicesimo
sedicesimo
diciassettesimo
diciottesimo
diciannovesimo
ventesimo
ventunesimo
ventiduesimo
23rd
24th
25th
26th
27th
28th
29th
30th
40th
50th
60th
70th
80th
90th
100th
200th
300th
4ooth
500th
6ooth
700th
800th
900th
1,000th
10,000th
100,000th
ventitreesimo
ventiquattresimo
venticinquesimo
ventiseiesimo
ventisettesimo
ventottesimo
ventinovesimo
trentesimo
quarantesimo
cinquantesimo
sessantesimo
settantesimo
ottantesimo
novantesimo
centesimo
duecentesimo
trecentesimo
quattrocentesimo
cinquecentesimo
seicentesimo
settecentesimo
ottocentesimo
novecentesimo
millesimo
diecimillesimo
centomillesimo
1,000,000th
millionesimo
1,000,000,00th
milliardesimo
Chapter 5: Months and Days
When making travel arrangements, you need to know how to express the date properly to
avoid confusion or missed flights and opportunities.
It’s important to know that when writing dates, Italian begins with the day before the month
and the year. For example, to express November 30, 2015, you should write 30/11/15.
In Italian, the months and days do not begin with a capital letter.
Months of the Year (I giorni della settimana)
gennaio
febbraio
marzo
aprile
maggio
giugno
luglio
agosto
settembre
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
ottobre
novembre
dicembre
October
November
December
Days of the Week i (Giorni della settimana)
lunedì
martedì
mercoledì
giovedì
venerdì
sabato
domenica
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
The Seasons (Le Stagioni)
Spring
spring
Summer
estate
Autumn
autunno
Winter
inverno
March to
May
June to
August
September
to
November
December
to
February
Chapter 6: Telling Time, Dates, Year, and Century
Italians generally use the 24-hour clock which is just a matter of adding 12 to the hours after
noon. For instance, if the clock says 3 in the afternoon, it’s written as 15:00.
To ask for the specific time, you can use the following expressions:
What time is it?
“Che ore sono?”
or “Che ora è?”
What time do
you have?
“Che hora fai?”
To tell the time, you will use a definite article in the feminine form before the specific time.
The singular linking verb “è” (is) is used to tell time when the hour is at 1 o’clock. The
plural verb “sono” (are) is used to express time for all other hours. To express time between
the hours, you’ll simply tell the hour and the minutes separating both time elements with the
word “e” which means “and”.
Examples:
It’s 3:21 AM.
It’s 1:15 AM.
It’s 5:23 PM.
It’s 9:30 AM.
It’s 4:25 PM.
It’s noon.
It’s midnight.
Sono le tre e
ventuno.
É l'una e un
quarto.
Sono le
diciassette e
ventitrè.
Sono le nove e
mezzo.
Sono le sedici e
venticinque.
É mezzogiorno.
É mezzanotte.
When the minutes are past the half hour, you will use “meno” which means less and state the
minutes before the approaching hour.
Example:
It’s quarter to
four AM.
It’s ten minutes
to six PM.
It’s twenty five
minutes to 9
Sono le quattro
meno un quarto.
Sono le diciotto
meno dieci.
So le nove meno
AM.
venticinque.
Useful Time Expressions:
ieri
domain
oggi
now
una settimana fa
l’altro ieri
dopodomani
di qui a un mese
tra una
settimana
a volte
ogni due
settimane
ogni giorno
la settimana
prossima
la settimana
scorsa
a metà ottobre
yesterday
tomorrow
today
adesso
a week ago
the other day
the day after
tomorrow
a month from
now
in a week
sometimes
every two
weeks
every day
next week
last week
in the middle of
October
ogni tanto
affitto di un
mese
from time to
time
rental for one
month
Italians use this order to express the date: day/month/year. Hence, to express December 5,
2015, you will write 5/12/2015.
Expressing Year and Century
To state the year, just write the thousands, hundreds, tens, and the unit.
For example:
2015
2014
1942
duemilaquindici
duemilaquattordici
millenovecentoquarantadue
To express the century, Italians use the word “secolo”
For example:
In the 20th
century
nel ventesimo
secolo
In the 21st
century
nel ventunesima
secolo
in the 19th
century
nel
diciannovesimo
secolo
Useful Expressions:
fra il 2004 ed il
2015
dal agosto 2015
Ho lavorato fino
al 2014.
Nel luglio 2014
nell'anno tre
between 2004
and 2015
as of August
2015
I worked until
2014.
in July 2014
in year 3
Chapter 7: Colors in Italian
Colors are used to describe people and things around us. In Italian, most colors are declined
to agree with the gender and number of the word being described.
Examples:
un cane nero
una macchina
gialla
quattro cani neri
3 case bianche
a black dog
a yellow car
four black dogs
three white
houses
Here are the most common color words:
rosso
blu
giallo
arancione
nero
red
blue
yellow
orange
black
verde
bianco
rosso Bordeaux
biondo
rosa
marrone
viola
castano
grigio
violetto
blu chiaro
oro
argento
green
white
maroon
blonde
pink
brown
purple
brunette
gray
violet
light blue
gold
silver
Chapter 8: Forming Sentences
The basic Italian sentence structure is similar to that of English:
Subject + Verb + Object
Hence:
Janina parla francese.
Subject+Verb+Object
There are a few differences between English and Italian clause and sentence structure.
In English, adjectives come before the noun they describe – the pink dress, the intelligent
girls, and the blue car. In Italian, with a few exceptions, adjectives usually come after the
word they describe – il vestito rosa, le ragazze intelligente, le auto blu.
Italian sentences need not follow the standard Subject+Verb+Object word order. To change
the emphasis of a sentence, the verb can come before the subject.
For example:
Annie arriverà
domain.
Arriverà Annie
domain.
Annie will arrive
tomorrow.
Annie will arrive
tomorrow.
In Italian, the subject pronoun is usually omitted because it is clearly indicated by the verb
form.
Italian Negation
The most common away to express negation in Italian is by using the word “non” before the
verb. In some cases, the object pronoun may come before the verb.
For example:
Sono felice.
Io non sono
felice.
Gli piace il cibo.
Non gli piace il
cibo.
I am happy.
I am not happy.
He likes the
food.
He doesn’t like
the food.
Here are other negative expressions in Italian:
Io non guido
non guida
Non guidiamo
non do
non dà
I don't drive
he doesn't drive
we don't drive
I don't give
he doesn't give
non diamo
Non amo
egli non ama
non amiamo
non sorridere
egli non sorride
non sorridiamo
Non parlo
non parla
non parliamo
Non prendo
egli non prende
noi non
prendiamo
Io non scrivo
egli non scrive
non scriviamo
we don't give
I don't love
he doesn't love
we don't love
I don't smile
he doesn't smile
we don't smile
I don't speak
he doesn't
speak
we don't speak
I don't take
he doesn't take
we don't take
I don't write
he doesn't write
we don't write
Chapter 9: Capitalization and Punctuation
Capitalization
The Italian language has less use for the capital letter than English. The following words are
capitalized in English but not in Italian:
months of the year and days of the week
gennaio, febbraio, marzo, lunedi, martedi, mercoledi
proper adjectives
un libro francese, la lingua spagnola
a few proper nouns
nouns of nationalities such as americani (Americans), francese (French)
titles like Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Miss: Il signor Ramon è italiano. Mr. Ramon is Italian.
Useful terms:
carrateri minuscoli - lower case or small letters
carrateri maiuscoli - upper case or capital big letters
Punctuation
Here are the most commonly-used punctuation marks in Italian:
.
,
il punto
la virgola
il punto
interrogativo
il punto
esclamativo
due punti
il punto e
virgola
l'apostrofo
period
comma
question
mark
exclamation
point
colon
dashes
hyphen
*
la lineetta
il trattino
i puntini di
sospensione
l'asterisco
«»
le virgolette
?
!
:
;
'
_
...
[]
()
le parentesi
quadre
le parentesi
tonde
semicolon
apostrophe
ellipses
asterisk
quotation
marks
brackets
brackets
Chapter 10: Nouns (Nomi)
Nouns are words that name people, places, animal, things, or ideas. Italian nouns take on
different forms to indicate their number and gender. The articles, adjectives, and other
modifiers must agree with the number and gender of the noun being described or modified. A
noun can be used as a subject, object of a verb, or an object of a preposition.
Gender
Italian nouns can only take one of two genders – the masculine or feminine gender. When
learning the gender of nouns, it is best to learn the noun along with the definite article that
comes with the noun.
The grammatical gender of a noun generally follows the natural gender of the person being
referred to. Hence, female human beings are feminine while male human beings are
masculine. Collective nouns with mixed genders are masculine.
Masculine nouns:
Il padre
the father
il figlio
lo zio
the son
the uncle
maestro
male teacher
bambini
children (all
boys)
Feminine nouns:
la madre
the mother
la figlia
la zia
the daughter
the aunt
children (all
girls)
bambine
Collective Nouns with mixed genders
bambini
children (boys
and girls)
For animals, things, places, and ideas, there are basic guidelines to identify the gender of the
noun. One way is by checking the ending. Here are guidelines you can apply:
In general, most Italian nouns with –o ending are masculine.
il libro
il museo
il corpo
il tavolo
il cielo
il suono
the book
the museum
the body
the table
the sky
the sound
The exceptions to this rule include the following nouns:
la mano
la radio
la biro
the hand
the radio
the pen
Another group of exception includes feminine nouns that only happened to end in –o because
of the shortening done on the word.
l'auto (short
form for
l'automobile)
la foto (short
form for la
fotografia)
la moto (short
form for la
the car
the picture
the motorbike
motocicletta)
Most nouns ending in –a are feminine
la finestra
la città
la sedia
la pizza
la penna
the window
the city
the chair
the pizza
pen
Exceptions:
Nouns ending in –ma are masculine:
il cinema
il tema
il fantasma
il panorama
il problema
il programa
il clima
the cinema
the theme
the ghost
the panorama
the problem
the program
the climate
A few proper nouns that end in –a are masculine, including the name “Andrea”.
Nouns ending in –a which are of Greek origin and nouns ending in –cida and –ista can be
masculine or feminine depending on the context in which they are used.
il colega
atleta
suicida
turista
giornalista
pianist
artista
collegue
athlete
suicide
tourist
journalist
pianist
artist
In general, nouns ending in –e are either masculine or feminine:
la nave
la luce
la mente
il dente
la nube
il bicchiere
the ship
the light
the mind
the tooth
the cloud
the glass
As you can expect, there are exceptions to the rule:
Nouns that end in –ie are feminine.
la specie
La superficie
the kind
the surface
All nouns that end in –ore are masculine.
il fattore
il motore
il colore
il autore
the farmer
the engine
the color
author
Nearly all nouns ending in –ite, –udine, -ice, -ione, and –igine are feminine.
la lite
la altitudine
la pittrice
la decisione
la visione
la nazione
l'origine
the quarrel
the height
the painter
the decision
the vision
the nation
the origin
A majority of nouns ending in –ame, –ale, -ere, and -ile are masculine.
Il rame
il giornale
Il pollame
il canale
Il potere
il canile
the copper
the newspaper
the poultry
the channel
the power
the kennel
Nouns ending in -tù and -tà are all feminine.
la servitú
la gioventù
la gioventù
la virtú
la felicità
the slavedom
the youth
the youth
the virtue
the happiness
In general, nouns ending in -i are feminine.
l'analisi
la sintesi
la crisi
the analysis
the synthesis
the crisis
The exception includes nouns like il safari (safari) and il brindisi (toast).
Italian nouns with a consonant ending are mostly of foreign origin and are generally
masculine.
il computer
lo sport
il bar
the computer
the sport
the bar
il toast
il film
the toast
the film
Exceptions include nouns like la holding (holding) and la star (star).
In some cases, noun genders may be established by what the word denotes.
Seas and lakes are grammatically masculine.
il Pacifico
il Tirreno
the Pacific
the Tyrrhenian
Branches of science are feminine nouns.
la chimica
la biologia
the chemistry
the biology
Cities are feminine.
la Città di
Londra
the City of
London
Names of chemical elements and metals are masculine.
il bronzo
the bronze
il cesio
l'alluminio
l'oro
l'argento
cesium
the aluminum
gold
silver
Names of trees are generally masculine.
il pero
l'acero
Il melo
l'albero di
mogano
Il ciliegio
the pear tree
the maple tree
the apple tree
the mahogany
tree
the cherry tre
Some trees, however, have feminine gender:
la palma
la quercia
la vite
the palm tree
the oak tree
the grapevine
Forming Feminine Nouns
In general, an Italian noun is expressed and listed in a masculine form. In many cases, a
masculine noun’s ending is changed to form the feminine. In some instances, feminine words
would have completely different form from the masculine.
Changing the Ending to Form the Feminine Nouns
Masculine Nouns ending in -0
To form the feminine, the –o ending is replaced with an –a ending:
Examples:
male
cat
il
little
bambino boy
il figlio
son
il zio
uncle
il gatto
la gatta
la
bambina
la figlia
la zia
female
cat
little girl
daughter
aunt
Masculine Nouns ending in –a
To form the feminine, the -a ending is replaced with an –essa ending:
il
duca
il
poeta
duke
male
poet
la
duchessa
la
poetessa
duchess
female
poet
Masculine nouns ending in –e
To form the feminine, the –e ending is either replaced with –a or dropped and replaced with
–essa:
il
padrone
il
signore
il
principe
master
la padrona
house
mistress
mister
la signora
mistress
prince
la
principessa
the
princess
Masculine nouns ending in –tore
A majority of nouns that end with –tore form the feminine by replacing the ending with –
trice. Several nouns with –tore ending form take the suffix –tora.
il
direttore
il
pattore
Il
pastore
la
direttrice
male
la
painter
pittrice
la
shepherd
pastora
director
the
directress
female
painter
shepherdress
Nouns with Totally Distinct Forms for Masculine and
Feminine
Some nouns are derived from completely different roots and differ completely in the
masculine and feminine form:
il uomo
man
il
brother
fratello
il padre
father
il
godfather
padrino
il frate
friar
el re
king
il
male
maschio
il marito
husband
il cane
dog
la donna
la
sorella
la madre
la
madrina
la suora
la regina
la
femmina
la
moglie
la cagna
The Epicene Gender
woman
sister
mother
godmother
nun
queen
female
wife
bitch
Several nouns have one form for both genders. To indicate the gender, the words
“maschio”and “femmina” are used to modify the masculine and feminine gender
respectively.
la cicogna
maschio
la cicogna
femmina
l'acquila maschio
l'acquila
femmina
la volpe
mascchio
la volpe
femmina
il serpent
maschio
la serpent
femmina
the male stork
the female stork
the male eagle
the female
eagle
the male fox
the female fox
the male snake
the female
snake
Forming Plural Nouns
In general, Italian nouns form the plural by changing the ending of its singular form.
Nouns ending in –a
Masculine nouns ending in –a form the plural by changing the ending to –i while feminine
nouns form the plural by changing the ending to –e.
Examples:
Masculine nouns ending in -a
Singular
Plural
l’artista
gli artisti
il poeta
i poeti
il
proglema
i problemi
English
the artist,
the artists
the poet,
the poets
the
problem,
the
problems
Feminine nouns ending in -a
Singular
Plural
la cosa
le cose
la casa
le case
la porta
le porte
l’agenzia
le
agenize
English
the thing,
the things
the house,
the houses
the door,
the doors
the
agency,
the
agencies
Nouns ending in -o
Nouns that end in –o form their plural by changing the ending to –i for both genders.
Masculine nouns ending in -o
Singular
Plural
English
il libro
i libri
il bambino
i bambini
il giorno
i giorni
il amico
I amici
the book,
the books
the male
child, the
children
the day,
the days
the male
friend, the
male
friends
Feminine nouns ending in -0
Singular
Plural
English
la mano
le mani
the hand,
the hands
Nouns ending in –e
Nouns that end in –e form the plural by changing the ending to –i for both genders.
Masculine nouns ending in –e
Singular
Plural
il dente
i denti
il
bicchiere
i bicchiere
il cane
i cani
il padre
i padre
English
the tooth,
the teeth
the glass,
the
glasses
the dog,
the dogss
the
father,
the
fathers
Feminine nouns ending in –e
la luce
le luci
la
canzone
le canzoni
la madre
le madri
the light,
the lights
the song,
the songs
the
mother,
the
mothers
Nouns with different endings form their plural in different ways.
Nouns ending in –ca
Masculine nouns ending –ca form the plural by changing its ending to –chi while feminine
nouns that end in –ca form their plural by changing the ending to –che.
Examples:
Masculine nouns ending in -ca
il
monarca
i
monarchi
il
patriarca
i
patriarchi
il duca
i duchi
the
monarch,
the
monarchs
the
patriarch,
the
patriarchs
the duke,
the dukes
Feminine nouns ending in –ca
female
la amica
le amiche
la mucca
le mucche
la barca
le barche
la
basilica
le
basiliche
friend,
female
friends
the cow,
the cows
the boat,
the boats
the
church,
the
churches
Nouns ending in –ga
Masculine nouns that end in –ga form the plural by changing the ending to –ghi while
feminine nouns that end in –ga form the plural by changing the ending to –ghe.
Examples:
Masculine nouns ending in -ga
il collega
i colleghi
the
colleague,
the
colleagues
lo
stratega
gli
streteghi
the
strategy,
the
strategies
Feminine nouns ending in -ga
la strega
le streghe
la bottega
le
botteghe
the witch,
the
witches
the store,
the stores
Nouns ending in –gia and –cia form the plural in different ways
Nouns with stressed or tonic “i” in –gia or –cia form the plural by dropping the –a and
changing the noun’s ending to –gie and –cie respectively.
la bugìa
le bugìe
la
farmacìa
le
farmacìe
the lie, the
lies
the
pharmacy,
the
pharmacies
Nouns with unstressed or atonic “i” form the plural by maintaining the “i” if –gia or –cia
are immediately preceded by a vowel. The ‘i” is dropped if –gia and –cia are immediately
preceded by a consonant.
Examples:
la valìgia
le valigie
l’arancia
le arance
la ciliegia
le ciliegie
the
suitcase,
the
suitcases
the
orange,
the
oranges
the cherry,
the
cherries
Nouns ending in –io
The following rules govern the plural formation of nouns that end in –io:
If the “i” is stressed or tonic, the plural is formed by changing the ending to –ii
Singular
Plural
the
il rinvio
i rinvìi
il zio
i zii
postponement,
the
postponements
the uncle, the
uncles
If “i” is unstressed or atonic, the noun’s ending to is changed to –I to form the plural.
Singular
Plural
Il figlio
i figli
Ilcambio
i càmbii
the son,
the sons
the
change,
the
changes
Nouns that Change its Gender When Forming the Plural
A few masculine nouns that end in –o become feminine in the plural form.
Singular
Plural
il miglio
le miglia
the mile,
the miles
the
il
centinaio
le
centinaia
il riso
le risa
l'uovo
le uova
il paio
le paia
hundred,
the
hundreds
the laugh,
the laughs
the egg,
the eggs
the pair,
the pairs
Nouns with Irregular Plural Forms
Some nouns change their stem to express the plural:
l'ala
le ali
il dio
gli dei
il tempio
i temple
l'arma
le armi
the wing,
the wings
the god,
the gods
the temple,
the
temples
the
weapon,
the
weapons
Plural Formation of Nouns Ending in –co or -go
Italian nouns ending in –co and –go form their plural in several ways and must be learned
individually.
In general, nouns ending in –co or –go change to plural in the following manner:
If the noun is stressed on the penultimate syllable, it forms the plural by changing –co to –chi
and –go to –ghi. These nouns are called parole piane.
If the noun is stressed on the third syllable counting from the final one, it forms the plural by
changing –co to –ci and –go to –gi. These words are called parole sdrucciole.
Examples:
Parole Piane
Singular
il fuòco (the
fire)
il albèrgo (the
hotel)
Plural
i fuochi (the
fires)
i albergi (the
hotels)
Notable exceptions:
il greco (the
Greek)
il porco (the
pork)
il amico (the
friend)
il nemico (the
enemy)
i greci (the
Greeks)
i porci (the pigs)
i amici (the
friends)
i nemici (the
enemies)
Parole Sdrucciole
Singular
il sìndaco (the
Mayor)
l’aspàrago (the
asparagus)
Plural
i sindaci (the
Mayors)
gli asparagi (the
asparagus)
Notable exceptions:
il incarico (the
assignment)
il valico (the
crossing)
l’abico (the
abico)
il strascico (the
i incarichi (the
assignments)
i valichi (the
crossings)
gli abachi (the
abici)
i strascichi (the
train)
il carico (the
load)
l’abaco (the
abacus)
trains)
i carichi (the
loads)
gli abachi (the
abacuses)
Invariable Nouns
Many Italian nouns have the same form in singular and plural. These nouns are usually
modified by a corresponding article to distinguish their number.
Nouns ending in -i
5lo àlibi
lo àlcali
la cisti
la crisi
the alibi
the alkali
the cyst
the crisis
the
la analisi
analysis
la
the
paràlisi
paralysis
la
the
paràfrasi paraphrase
the
la ipotesi
hypothesis
la
the
parèntesi parenthesis
the
la ipòfisi
hypophysis
the
gli alibi
gli àlcali
le cisti
le crisi
the alibis
the alkalis
the cysts
the crises
le analisi
the analyses
le
the
paralisi
paralyses
le
the
parafrasi paraphrases
the
le ipotesi
hypotheses
le
the
parèntesi parentheses
the
le ipofisi
hypophyses
the
la tèsi
dissertation
le tèsi
dissertations
la
paràbasi
the
parabasis
le
parabasi
the
parabases
Monosyllabic nouns
il dì
il tè
the day
the tea
i dì
i tè
il sì
the yes
i sì
il re
il su
the
king
the up
i re
i su
the days
the teas
the
yeses
the
kings
the ups
Nouns ending in an accented vowel:
la beltà
il canapè
il babà
il caffè
la civiltà
the
beauty
the sofa
the rum
cake
the coffee
the
civilization
the
le beltà
I canapè
i babà
i caffè
le civiltà
the
beauties
the sofas
the rum
cakes
the coffees
the
civilizations
the
il paltò
overcoat
i paltò
overcoats
il bebé
il pascià
la città
il papa
lo emù
la virtù
la
università
the baby
the pasha
the city
the father
the emu
the virtue
the
university
i bebé
i pascià
le città
i papa
gli emù
le virtù
la
università
the babies
the pashas
the cities
the fathers
the emus
the virtues
the
universities
In general, nouns derived from foreign terms:
il drive
the drive
i drive
the drives
il software
the software
i software
the software
il goal
the goal
i goal
the goals
il mouse
the mouse
i mouse
the mice
il panama
the Panama
hat
i panama
the Panama
hats
la mousse
the mousse
le mousse
the mousses
il film
the film
i film
the films
la paella
the paella
le paella
the paellas
il pâté
the pâté
i pâté
the pâtés
il pastiche
the pastiche
i pastiche
the pastiche
la
performance
the
performance
le
performance
the
performances
il party
the party
i party
the parties
Abbreviated nouns
automobile
la àuto
the car
le auto
the cars
paracadutista
il parà
the
paratrooper
i parà
the
paratroopers
motocicleta
la
mòto
the bike
le
mòto
the bikes
il
radioricevitore
la
ràdio
the radio
le
radio
the radios
cinematografo
il
cìnema
the movie
theater
i
cinema
movie
theatres
stereofonico
lo
stereo
the stereo
gli
stereo
the stereos
la
videocassette
il
video
the
videotape
i video
the
videotapes
Nouns ending in a consonant
lo
autobus
il monitor
il bar
il pallet
il
computer
the bus
the
monitor
the café
the pallet
the
computer
gli
autobus
i monitor
i bar
i pallet
i
computer
the buses
the
monitors
the cafes
the pallets
the
computers
il pandit
il condor
il parquet
il modem
il tram
il
pancreas
lo
scanner
il
pantheon
il radar
lo sport
the
pundit
the
condor
the wood
floor
the
modem
the cable
car
the
pancreas
the
scanner
the
Pantheon
the radar
the sport
i pandit
i condor
i parquet
i modem
i tram
i
pancreas
gli
scanner
i
pantheon
i radar
gli sport
the pundits
the
condors
the wood
floors
the
modems
the cable
cars
the
pancreases
the
scanners
the
Pantheons
the radars
the sports
Masculine neologism ending in –o
il Euro (the
Euro)
i Euro (the
Euros)
Some feminine nouns ending in –ie
la serie (the
series)
l’especie (the
species)
le serie (the
series)
le especie (the
species)
Defective Nouns (Nomi Difettivi)
Nouns that only take the singular form and those that only take the plural form are classified
as defective nouns. The following are defective nouns:
Singularia Tantum (Nouns which appear mostly or exclusively in the singular form)
Nouns designating substances, metals, materials, chemical elements, and products
il latte
il bronzo
l’ossigeno
the milk
the bronze
the oxygen
il carbone
l’ottone
l’idrogeno
il ferro
il frumento
l’oro
the coal
the brass
the hydrogen
the iron
the wheat
the gold
Most abstract nouns denoting state, action, or quality
l’amore
la pazienza
la gioia
il corragio
la pietà
l'onore
l'intelligenza
la bellezza
lo sviluppo
l'ingratitudine
l'orgoglio
il valore
the love
the joy
the joy
the courage
the compassion
the honor
the intelligence
the beauty
the development
the ingratitude
the pride
the valor
Take note that a few abstract nouns can be expressed in the plural but will take on a different
meaning. For instance, la belleza (the beauty) has a plural form, le bellezze, but it refers to
either beautiful places or beautiful women.
Names of diseases
Il tifo
il colera
la malaria
il morbillo
il vaiolo
l’influenza
il morbillo
l’Aids
the typhus
the cholera
the malaria
measles
the smallpox
the flu
the measles
the AIDS
Nouns that denote unique objects or phenomena
il sole
il sud
il nord
l'orizzonte
la luna
the sun
the south
the north
the horizon
the moon
Names of months
gennaio
January
febbraio
marzo
aprile
February
March
April
Nouns referring to food and drinks
Il latte
Il cioccolato
l’orzo
il pane
il pepe
il riso
il grano
il miele
milk
chocolate
barley
bread
pepper
rice
wheat
honey
Nouns pertaining to the sciences and those ending in -ismo
la biologia
la chimica
la medicina
l'impressionismo
biology.
chemistry
medical science
impressionism
Some collective nouns
il fogliame
foliage
la gente
la roba
people
stuff
Proper Nouns
Germania
Roma
Carlota
Stati Uniti
Germany
Rome
Carlota
United States
Pluralia Tantum (Nouns which appear mostly or exclusively in the plural form)
Nouns referring to objects with two paired or similar components
i calzone
le forbici
le tenàglie
le mutande
gli occhiali
gemèlli
le narici
pants
scissors
tongs, pliers
underwear
glasses
twins
nostrils
Nouns which refer to a group of objects of similar type
le masserizie
lespèzie
le vettovaglie
i dintorni
le stoviglie
le macerie
le vettovàglie
le tènebre
housewares
spices
provisions
surroundings
dishes
ruins
viand
darkness
A few nouns derived from Latin
le ferie
le nozze
holiday
wedding
Nomi sovrabbondandi
Several Italian nouns have two singular forms, two plural forms, or two singular and plural
forms.
Nouns with two singulars
Nouns with two singular end in –iero or –iere and are all masculine.
Common
Literary Form
Form
Plural
Singular
Singular
il
il
i
steed
destriero destriere destrieri
il
il
i
foreigner
forestiero forestiere forestieri
lo
lo
gli
sparrowhawk
sparviero sparviere sparvieri
English
Nouns with two plurals
Nouns with two plural forms can be grouped into two:
Nouns with plural forms that have dissimilar meanings
Nouns with plural forms that have similar meanings
Nouns that have two plural forms with dissimilar meanings:
Singular
il
bràccio
M asculine Plural
Feminine Plural
arm
i
bracci
wings, branches
le
bràccio
human
arms
il muro
wall
i muri
building walls
le
mura
city
walls
il dito
finger
i diti
fingers,
individual
le dita
fingers,
collective
il como
horn
i
como
horns/instrument
le
coma
animal
horns
il
labbro
edge,
lip
i
labbri
edges
le labra
lips
lo
anèllo
ring
gli
anèlli
rings
le
anèlla
curly
hairs
lo òsso
bone
gli
òssi
animal bones
le òssa
human
bones
il ciglio
edge
i cigli
edges
le
ciglia
eyelash
il grido
cry
i gridi
animal’s cries
le grida
human’s
cries
il gesto
gesture
i gesti
gestures
le
gesta
deeds
Nouns that have plural forms with similar meanings
There are only a few nouns in this category. Here are some of them:
Singular
M asculine Plural
Feminine Plural
lo urlo
shout
gli urli
shouts
le urla
shouts
il
ginòcchio
knee
i
ginòcchi
knees
le
ginòcchia
knees
il gomito
elbow
i gomiti
elbows
le gomita
elbows
lo stride
squeak
gli stridi
squeaks
le strida
squeaks
filament
i
filaménti
filaments
le
filaménta
filaments
il
filament
Nouns with Two Singular Forms and Two Plural Forms
There are two Italian nouns with two singular forms and two plural forms. In addition, both
forms have similar meaning.
Singular
Forms
l'orecchia
la strofe
Plural
Forms
le
l'orecchio
orecchie
la strofa
le strofi
English
gli
ear
orecchi
le
strophe
strofe
Chapter 11: Articles (Gli Articoli)
The Italian language has two main types of articles, the definite articles and the indefinite
articles. Unlike their English counterparts, Italian articles must agree with both gender and
number of the nouns they modify. In addition, articles may change in form if the noun being
modified starts with a vowel. Hence, the article forms vary according to the gender, number,
and first letter of the word they modify.
Definite Articles (Articoli determinativi)
Definite articles modify nouns that refer to a particular person, things, place, or idea.
Gender
Masculine
Masculine
Feminine
Masculine/Feminine
Singular
il
lo
la
l'
Plural
i
gli
le
gli/le
The articles “il” and “i” are used to modify masculine nouns that start with a consonant
except when the articles “lo” and “gli” must be used. The articles “lo” and “gli” are used to
modify masculine nouns that start with z, x, gn, pn, ps, i, y+vowel, and s+consonant. In
addition, “lo” changes to “l’” when the word that comes after it starts with an “h” or a
vowel.
Examples:
Singular
il
telefono
il libro
il pollo
lo
Plural
the
telephone
the book
the
chicken
i telefoni
i libri
i pollo
gli
the
telephones
the books
the
chicken
specchio
the mirror
lo
the sugar
zucchero
lo
the
xil ọ fono xylophone
specchi
the mirrors
gli
the sugar
zucchero
gli
the
xil ọ foni xylophones
gli
the
spaghetti spaghetti
The articles “la” and “le” are used before feminine nouns. For ease in pronunciation, the
article “la” is contracted to “ l’ ” if the following word starts with a vowel but no
contraction is done for the feminine plural form of the article.
la sedia
la matita
la
finestra
la strada
l’arancia
l’amica
l’entrata
le
sedie
the
le
pencil
matite
the
le
window fnestre
the
le
street
strade
the
le
orange arance
the
le
girlfriend amiche
the
le
entrance entrate
the chair
the chairs
the
pencils
the
windows
the
streets
the
oranges
the
girlfriends
the
entrances
l’orologio
the
watch
gli
orologi
the
watches
Chapter 12: Indefinite Articles (Articoli indeterminativi)
The indefinite article is equivalent to “a” or “an” in the English language and corresponds to
the number “one’. They are used before nouns that are known but are not specifically
identified. Indefinite articles have no plural forms and plural nouns that are not specifically
identified can take the partitive article if needed.
5Gender
Masculine
Feminine
Indefinite
Articles
uno / un
una / un
The indefinite article “uno” is used before a masculine singular noun that begins with
S+consonant, z, x, y+vowel, gn, ps, or pn.
Examples:
uno stato
uno schizzo
uno psicologo
a state
a sketch
a psychologist
uno zio
uno yacht
uno pneumatico
uno stadio
uno specchio
uno gnomo
uno xilofono
uno zoccolo
an uncle
a yacht
a tire
a stage
a mirror
a gnome
a xylophone
a hoof
The indefinite article “un” is used before all other masculine singular noun that does not
require the article “uno”.
Examples:
un quaderno
un libro
un amico
un piatto
un giornale
un orologio
un uomo
un treno
un albero
un ristorante
a notebook
a book
friend
a dish
a newspaper
a clock
a man
a train
a tree
a restaurant
un aereo
a plane
The indefinite article “una” is used before feminine nouns that start with a consonant.
Examples:
una macchina
una notte
una casa
una penna
una bicicletta
una biblioteca
una sedia
una stazione
a car
a night
a house
a pen
a bicycle
a library
a chair
a station
The indefinite article “un” introduces feminine singular nouns that start with a vowel.
un' infermiera
un’amica
un' insalata
un’automobile
un'ora
un’ ǫ pera
un’arancia
a nurse
a friend
a salad
a car
an hour
an opera
an orange
Partitive articles (Articoli partitivi)
Partitive articles are used to denote approximate or indefinite quantities. They correspond to
the words “some” or “any” in English. The partitive article is formed by combining the “de”
form of the preposition “di” (of with the appropriate definite article. The rules on the usage
of definite articles apply to partitive articles.
Gender
masculine
masculine
feminine
masculine/
feminine
Singular
del
dello
della
Plural
dei
degli
delle
dell'
degli/delle
Examples:
del pane
delle arance
dell’olio
del burro
degli spagh ẹ tti
della gente
some bread
some oranges
some oil
some butter
some spaghetti
some people
dei panini
dello z ụ cchero
dell’acqua
a few rolls
any sugar
some water
Chapter 13 Pronouns (Pronomi)
Personal pronouns replace persons or things in a sentence or phrase and can function as a
subject or object.
Subject Pronouns (Pronomi soggetto
Subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb’s conjugation already indicates the
person. There are instances, however, that requires the use of subject pronouns: for clarity,
to emphasize something, or when the adverb “anche” (also is used to modify the pronoun.
Subject
Pronouns
io
tu
lui
lei
egli
noi
voi
loro
English
I
you
he (familiar
she
he (written
we
you
they
Loro
esso (m
essa (f
essi (m, neuter
esse (f, neuter
you (formal
it
it
they
they
Take note that when it comes to personal pronoun, Italian has distinct forms for the neuter
gender. The neuter pronouns are used to replace animals and objects.
Examples:
Io pulisco la
casa.
Noi siamo tristi.
Loro sono in
ritardo.
Siete molto
generoso.
Lei sta bene.
I clean the
house.
We are sad.
We are late.
You are very
generous.
She is fine.
Object Pronouns (Oggetto Pronomi
Object pronouns require a verb and are either direct or indirect. Pronouns used as a direct
object receives the verb’s action while those that are used as indirect objects are indirectly
affected by the verb.
Direct object Pronouns (Pronomi Diretti
A direct object pronoun replaces a noun used as a direct object. Below are the Italian direct
object pronouns:
Singular
mi
ti
La (2nd person
polite
lo
la
Plural
ci
vi
li
le
Li (2nd person
me
you
you
him, it
her, it
us
you
them (male
them (female
them (male
polite
Le (2nd person
polite
them (female
The third person direct object pronouns in the singular form are frequently shortened as l’.
The polite forms for the second person pronouns are capitalized.
Usage
Li ho visti alla
festa.
Abbiamo dato
loro fiori.
I saw them at
the party last
night.
We gave them
flowers.
Indirect Object Pronouns
An indirect object pronoun answers the question for whom or to whom. Their forms are
almost identical to direct object pronouns.
Singolare
mi
ti
Singular
(to/for
me
you
(informal
Plurale
ci
vi
Plural
(to/for
us
you
(informal
gli
le
Le
him, it
her, it
you
(formal
loro
loro
Loro
them
them
you
(formal
Lui mi ha mandato un regala dalla Francia.
He (has sent me a gift from France.
Possessive Pronouns (Pronomi Possessivi and Possessive Adjectives (Adjettive
Possessivi
Possessive
Possessive
M asculine
Feminine
Adjectives
Pronouns
Singular
Plural
Singular
Plural
my
mine
il mio
i miei
la mia
le mie
your (fam.
yours
il tuo
i tuoi
la tua
le tue
your (pol.
yours
il Suo
i Suoi
la Sua
le Sue
his, her ,
its
hers,his,
its
il suo
i suoi
la sua
le sue
our
ours
il
nostro
i
nostri
la
nostra
le
nostre
your (fam.
yours
il
vostro
i
vostri
la
vostra
le
vostre
your (pol.
yours
il Loro
i
Loro
la Loro
le
Loro
their
theirs
il loro
i loro
la loro
le loro
Possessive pronouns and possessive adjectives must agree in number and gender with the
noun possessed and are identical in form but differ in meaning. They are commonly used
with a definite article which is not expressed when translating to English.
Examples:
Possessive
adjectives
Questo è il mio
cane.
This is my dog.
Questi sono i
miei cani.
These are my
dogs.
Possessive
Pronouns
Questo è il mio.
This is mine.
Questi sono i
miei.
These are mine.
The definite article is ommitted only if the possessed noun is a specific relative.
Mia madre è gentile.
Mio figlio è molto
intelligente.
My mother is kind.
My son is very kind.
Demonstrative Pronouns (Pronomi Dimostrativi
Demonstrative pronouns point to a person or thing. They have the same forms as
demonstrative adjectives.
Here are the demonstrative pronouns in Italian:
Singolare
Singular
this/this
one
Plurale
questi
Plural
these/these
ones
Masculine
questo
Feminine
questa
this/this
one
queste
these/these
ones
Masculine
quello
that/that
one
quelli
those/those
ones
Feminine
quella
that/that
one
quelle
those/those
ones
Examples:
Questa è la tua
penna.
Questo è il mio
This is your pen.
That is my
padre.
Queste sono le
tue zie.
father.
These are your
aunts.
Chapter 14: Adjectives (Aggettivi)
Like the words they describe, adjectives are masculine or feminine and they are declined
according to the number and gender of the noun or pronoun they modify.
Italian adjectives have attributive and predicative functions.
An adjective performs the attributive function when it is used to describe a noun:
Examples:
una casa grande
un bambino alto
un leader onesto
a big house
a tall child
an honest leader
An adjective performs a predicative function if it is used to describe a noun with the use of a
linking verb.
La casa è grande.
Il bambino è alto.
Il leader è
intelligente.
The house is big.
The child is tall.
The leader is
intelligent.
Placement of Adjectives
Adjectives are generally placed after the noun they modify.
Giovanni è una persona laboriosa.
Lei è una donna meravigliosa.
Egli possiede un auto blu .
Il bambino coraggioso inseguito il
ladro.
Giovanni is a hardworking
person.
She is a wonderful woman.
He owns a blue car.
The brave boy chased the thief.
There are notable exceptions to the above rule and they include several commonly-used
adjectives. These adjectives typically came before the noun:
nuovo
vecchio
giovane
cattivo
buono
bello
brutto
new
old
young
bad
good
beautiful
ugly
caro
stesso
bravo
piccolo
grande
lungo
vero
dear
same
good, able
small, little
large, great
long
true
Examples:
Vivono in una grande casa.
Il lungo viaggio è stato faticoso.
Suo padre gli ha dato la vecchia
auto.
They live in a big house.
The long ride was tiring.
His father gave him the old car.
When an adverb is used to modify the adjective or when making emphasis, the above
adjectives may be placed after the noun they modify.
Ha venduto una macchina molto
vecchia.
He sold a very old car.
Declension of Adjectives
Adjectives must agree in number and gender with the word they modify. The following rules
govern the declension of adjectives:
Adjectives ending with –o
Adjectives ending in –o takes four endings.
Singular
Plural
Masculine
-o
-i
Feminine
-a
-e
Example:
Lento -> slow
Singular
Masculine
lento
Feminine
lenta
Plural
lenti
lente
Examples:
la lunga strada
l'orgoglioso padre
gli uomini generosi
le nuove case
the long road
the proud father
the generous men
the new houses
Adjectives ending with –e
Adjectives that end in -e take the same ending in the singular masculine and feminine form
but change to –i in the plural.
Example:
Dolce -> sweet
Singular
Plural
Masculine
Feminine
dolce
dolci
dolce
dolci
Egli è un uomo forte.
He is a strong man.
Lei è un testimone ostile.
She is a hostile witness.
Quelli erano tempi entusiasmanti per i bambini.
Those were exciting time for the children.
Adjectives ending with –ista
Adjectives ending in –ista has three different endings
Masculine
Feminine
Singular
Plural
-sta
-sti
-sta
-ste
Example:
Egoista -> selfish
Singular
Plural
Masculine
egoista
egoisti
Feminine
egoista
egoiste
Examples:
un padre ottimista
una signora molto pessimista
dei padri ottimista
le signore ottimista
Adjectives ending with –one
an optimistic father
a very pessimistic lady
some optimistic fathers
the optimistic ladies
Adjectives that end in –one take on three endings.
Singular
Plural
Masculine
-one
-oni
Feminine
-ona
-one
Example:
Chiacchierone -> mouthy
Masculine
Feminine
Singular chiacchierone chiacchierona
Plural
chiacchieroni chiacchierone
il ragazzo pasticcione
una donna pasticcione
i ragazzi pasticcioni
le ragazze pasticcioni
the bungling boy
a bungling woman
the bungling boys
the bungling girls
Chapter 15: Invariable adjectives (aggettivi invariabili)
Invariable adjectives retain their form regardless of the number and gender of the words they
modify.
Pari (equal, impair (unequal, and dispari) (odd)
The following colors: blu (blue, marrone) (brown, rosa) (pink, and viola) (violet)
Adjectives formed from adverbial expressions:
dabbene (honest, perbene (respectable, and dappoco) (insignificant)
New compound adjectives using the prefix “anti”: antiruggine (anti-rust) antifurto (anti-theft)
Adjectives that are declined under similar rules for nouns of the same ending:
Adjectives which end with –io
Adjectives which end with "-co" and "-go"
Irregular Adjectives
When they are placed before a noun, these four common adjectives take irregular forms:
buono
bello
santo
grande
good
beautiful
holy/saint
big/great
Buono
The adjective “buono” is declined in accordance with the following rules:
If the noun modified is masculine:
Singular
Plural
buono
buoni
buon
buoni
Examples:
If the adjective
comes before
Nouns that
begin with s+z
and foreignderived nouns
starting with gn,
pn, ps, i, x or
y+vowel
Nouns that
begin with
consonant or
vowel other
than those that
require the
adjective
“buono”
un buono
ragazzo
gli buoni tempi
degli buoni
agricoltori
a good boy
the good times
some good
farmers
If the noun is feminine:
Singular
Plural
buona
buone
buon
buone
If the adjective
is placed before:
Nouns that
begin with a
consonant
Nouns that
begin with a
vowel
Examples:
una buona vita
delle buone
madri
una buon attrice
le buone attrici
a good life
some good
mothers
a good actress
the good
actresses
Bello
To agree with the noun it modifies, “belo” changes its ending in accordance with the rules
applied to definite articles:
If the noun that comes after it is masculine:
Singular
Plural
bell’
begli
bello
begli
bel
bei
if the noun
starts with a
vowel
if the noun
starts with
s+consonant,
z, ps, gn, pn, x,
i, y+vowel
if the noun
starts with a
consonant
except when
“bello” or
“begli” are
required
Examples:
il bel bambino (a handsome child, un bello specchio ( a beautiful mirror,
When the noun it modifies is feminine:
Singular
Plural
bell’
belle
bella
belle
If placed
before
nouns
starting with
a vowel
nouns
starting with
a consonant
Examples:
una bella mattina, delle belle flori, mia bell’ amica, le belle amiche
Santo
The adjective “santo” changes its ending to conform with the word it precedes in
accordance with these rules:
If “santo” comes before a masculine noun:
Singular
Plural
santo
santi
san
santi
Examples:
If the
adjective
comes before
Nouns
begining with
s+consonant,
z, pn, gn, ps,
y+vowel, i, or
x.
Nouns
beginning with
a vowel or a
consonant
unless “santo”
has to be used
San Pellegrino, Santi Paolo e Stefano, San Pietro
If “santo” comes before a feminine noun:
Singular
Plural
santa
santé
sant’
santé
If the
adjectives
comes
before
nouns
beginninng
with a
consonant
nouns
beginning
with a vowel
Examples:
Santa Teresa, Sant’ Emiliana, el Sante Teresa e Emiliana
Grande
To agree with the noun that comes after it, “grande” changes its ending using the following
rules:
If grande precedes a masculine noun, the following forms are used:
Singular
Grand’/grande
Gran/grande
Grande
If grande
comes
before:
Nouns that
Grandi begin with a
vowel
Nouns that
begin with a
consonant
except when
Grandi
only”
grande”
should be
used
Nouns that
begin with
s+consonant,
Grandi
z, I, x, gn, ps,
pn, or
Plural
y+vowel.
Adjectives Ending in –e
trustworthy
friendly
bold/daring
skilled
confidential
courteous/kind
weak
difficult
hardworking
amusing
sweet
excellent
elegant
exciting
enormous, huge
easy
happy
formal
strong
affidabile
amichevole
audace
capace
confidenziale
cortese
debole
difficile
diligente
divertente
dolce
eccellente
elegante
emozionante
enorme
facile
felice
formale
forte
lucky
futile
kind
young
big
important
independent
informal
intelligent
interesting
useless
better
original
hostile
patient
worst
dangerous
persistent
pleasant
careful/cautious
childish
punctual
smelly
rude
simple
sensitive
fortunate
futile
gentile
giovane
grande
importante
indipendente
informale
intelligente
interessante
inutile
megliore
originale
ostile
paziente
peggiore
pericolose
persistente
piacevole
prudente
puerile
puntuale
puzzolente
scortese
semplice
sensibile
unfavorable
sfavorevole
gaudy
sincere
soft
active
terrible
sad
humble
useful
fast
sgargiante
sincere
soffice
sportive
terribile
triste
umile
utile
veloce
Adjectives Endings in –o
wet
short
sour
hungry
aggressive
happy
tall
other
wide
agnato
aasso
acido
affamato
aggressivo
allegro
alto
altro
ampio
bored
anxious
annoiato
ansioso
ancient
mean
old
open
angry
attentive
stingy
beautiful
capable/talented
ugly
funny
good
stormy
calm
pretty
expensive
bad
light
closed
colorful
glad
courageous
expensive
antico
antipatico
anziano
aperto
arrabbiato
attento
avaro
bello
bravo
brutto
buffo
buono
burrascoso
calmo
carino
caro
cattivo
chiaro
chiuso
colorato
content
coraggioso
costoso
curious
delicious
disappointed
curioso
delizioso
deluso
right (direction
dynamic
straight
carefree
dishonest
destroyed
hard
foreign
insincere
crushed,
shattered
fresh
hasty
fried
shrewd
jealous
generous
right
fat
raw
broken
busy
destroy
dinamico
diritto
disinvolto
disonesto
distrutto
duro
estero
falso
frantumato
fresco
frettoloso
fritto
furbo
geloso
generoso
giusto
grasso
grezzo
ifranto
impegnato
naive
light
slow
ingenuo
leggero
lento
long
luxurious
thin
sick
half
mixed
dead
boring/tedious
well-known
new
cloudy
busy
odious,
detestable,
hateful
honest
proud
obstinate
weird
crazy
sinful
worse
lungo
lussurioso
magro
malatto
mezzo
misto
morto
noioso
noto
nuovo
nuvoloso
occupato
odioso
onesto
orgoglioso
ostinato
pazzesco
pazzo
peccaminoso
peggio
full
perfect
small
lazy
peino
perfetto
piccolo
pigro
rainy
poor
piovoso
povero
favorite
first
deep
next
daily
religious
rich
noisy
rough
salty
safe
wrong
silly
dark
dry
serious
silky
strict
cheeky
preferito
primo
profondo
prossimo
quotidiano
religioso
ricco
rumoroso
ruvido
salato
salvo
sbagliato
sciocco
scuro
secco
serio
setoso
severo
sfacciato
exhausted
unlucky
secure
nice
left
slender
slim
sfinito
sfortunato
sicuro
simpatico
sinistro
slanciato
snello
sunny
scared
hopeful
shameless
tired
same
stressed
studious
stupid
shy
calm, quiet
last
humid
old
true
alive
empty
quiet
soleggiato
spaventato
speranzoso
spudorato
stanco
stesso
stressato
studioso
stupid
timido
tranquillo
ultimo
umido
vecchio
vero
vivo
vuoto
zitto
Adjectives Ending in –ista
selfish
enthusiastic
optimistic
egoista
entusiasta
ottimista
pessimistic
pessimista
Chapter 16: Verbs
Verbs describe action, state of being, or occurrence. In Italian, verbs serve the following
functions:
Verbs indicate the doer of the action.
The doer of the action can be masculine (io, tu, lui), feminine (lei), a group of either
masculine or feminine, or a mix of both genders,
Verbs indicate how the action happens.
The Italian language has several moods with different forms and functions: the indicative
mood (indicative, the subjunctive (conguintivo), the imperative (imperative), infinitive
(infinitive), conditional (condizionale), the participle (participio), and the gerund (gerundio)
mood.
A verb tells when an action happens.
Verbs have moods and tenses.
A verb specifies the form or type of action taking place.
Italian verb forms can be active (transitive or intransitive), passive, and reflexive.
A majority of Italian verbs have simiar endings and follow three distinct patterns: -are, -ere,
and –ire. They are grouped and conjugated in accordance with their endings in the infinitive
form.
Here are examples of verbs under the 3 Verb Groups:
The –are verbs:
andare
arbitare
arrivare
dare
amare
inziare
fare
indossare
comprare
amare
mangiare
giocare
studiare
circare
camminare
ballare
pensare
guardare
chiamare
cantare
portare
invitare
to go
to live
to arrive
to give
to love
to begin
to do/make
to wear
to buy
to love
to eat
to play
to study
to look for
to walk
to dance
to think
to watch/guard
to call
to sing
to carry
to invite
lavorare
0rdinare
lasciare
avere bisogno di
imparare
cambiare
viaggiare
cucinare
to work
to order
to leave
to need
to learn
to change
to travel
to cook
The –ere verbs:
vedere
dire
leggere
temere
saltare
scrivere
vivere
credere
volere
sapere
dovere
mettere
chiedere
conoscere
to see
to say
to read
to fear
to jump
to write
to live
to believe
to want
to know
to owe
to put
to ask for
to know
vendere
piacere
bere
to sell
to like
to drink
the –ire Verbs
salire
aprire
dormire
venire
seguire
salire
sentire
finire
servire
preferire
pulire
morire
colpire
to get in
to open
to sleep
to come
to follow
to go up
to hear
to finish
to serve
to prefer
to clean
to die
to hit
Chapter 17: Verb Conjugations
Italian verbs change their form to signify who or what is performing the action and when.
Verbs belonging to –are, -ere, and –ire groups take on endings indicated for each verb class.
To conjuge regular verbs, just follow these steps:
Get the verb stem by dropping the –are, -ere, or –ire ending.
For example, to get the stem of the verb amare, drop the –are ending to come up with “am”.
Add the indicated ending based on the –are verbs conjugation table.
For instance, the ending for the first person in the present indicative tense is -0. To express I
love, you’ll say “Io amo (am+o)”. To say” I love you” , say “Io ti amo”.
The Present Tense (Il Tempo Presente)
The present tense is used to denote action in the present indicate (she reads). In addition, the
present tense of Italian verbs is also used to signify the present progressive tense (she is
reading). The subject pronoun may be omitted because the verb’s subject is already
indicated by the verb’s ending.
Conjugation tables for the Present Tense
-are verbs
Subject
English
io
tu
lui/lei
noi
voi
I
You
he/she
We
you
they/you
(formal)
Loro
-are
verbs
-o
-i
-a
-iamo
-ate
-ano
Hence, to conjugate lavorare (to work
Subject
io
tu
lui/lei
noi
voi
Loro
English
I
you
he/she
we
you
they/you
(formal)
lavorare
lavoro
lavori
lavora
lavoriamo
lavorate
lavorano
Sentences:
Lavoro a Intel. (I work at Intel.)
Lavoriamo da Lunedi a Venerdì ogni sett.
(We work from Monday to Friday every week.)
-ere verbs
Subject
English
io
I
-ere
verbs
-o
tu
lui/lei
noi
voi
you
he/she
we
you
they/you
(formal)
loro
-i
-e
-iamo
-ete
-ono
To conjugate leggere (to read):
Subject
io
tu
lui/lei
noi
voi
Loro
English
I
You
he/she
We
You
they/you
(formal)
leggere
leggo
leggi
legge
leggiamo
leggete
leggono
Sentences:
Io leggo libri nei finesettimana. (I read books on weekends.)
Raramente leggono i giornali. (They rarely read newspapers)
-ire verbs
Subject
Io
Tu
lui/lei
Noi
Voi
Loro
English
I
you
he/she
we
you
they/you
(formal)
-ire verbs
-o
-i
-e
-iamo
-ite
-ono
To conjugate aprire (to open)
Subject
io
tu
lui/lei
noi
voi
Loro
English
I
you
he/she
we
you
they/you
(formal)
aprire
aprio
apri
apre
apriamo
aprite
aprono
Apro la porta per farli entrare. (I open the door to let them in.)
Le guardie aprono il cancello del centro commerciale ogni alle 10 del mattino.
(The guards open the mall’s gate every 10:00 in the morning.)
The Verbs Avere and Essere
The verbs avere (to have) and essere (to be) are auxiliary verbs, which help form compound
tenses. In addition, essere is used in forming the passive voice.
The verbs avere and essere have irregular conjuctions:
Present Tense (avere)
Subject
io
tu
lui/lei
noi
voi
Loro
English
I
You
he/she
We
You
they/you
(formal)
avere
Ho
Hai
Ha
abbiamo
avete
hanno
Present Tense (avere)
Subject
io
tu
English
I
You
essere
sono
sei
lui/lei
noi
voi
he/she
We
You
they/you
(formal)
Loro
è
siamo
siete
sono
Many are confused on what auxiliary verb to use when forming compound verbs. A simple
approach is to check whether the verb is transitive or intransitive. Transitive verbs require a
direct object and take the auxiliary verb avere. Intransive verbs, on the other hand, take
essere.
Examples:
Avere:
Essere:
Ho visitato
una riserva
natural.
Marco è
andato alla
Francia.
I visited a
wildlife
sanctuary.
Marco has
gone to
France.
Past Tense - essere
ero
eri
I was
you were
era
eravamo
eravate
erano
he/she was
we were
you were
they were
Future tense - essere
sarò
sarai
sarà
saremo
sarete
saranno
I will be
you will be
he/she will
be
we will be
you will be
they will be
Past Tense – avere
avevo
avevi
aveva
avevamo
I had
you had
he/she had
we had
avevate
avevano
you had
they had
Future Tense – avere
avrò
avrai
avrà
avremo
avrete
avranno
I will have
you will have
he/she will
have
we will have
you will have
they will have
The past participle forms of avere and essere are as follows:
Infinitive
avere
essere
past participle
avuto
stato
The Past Participle Form (Il Participio Passato)
Past participles are formed by dropping the regular verb endings and adding the indicated
ending for each verb group.
Verbs
-are
verbs
-ere
verbs
-ire
verbs
Past
Participle
Ending
Examples
-ato
lavorare
lavorato
-uto
leggere
legguto
-ito
aprire
aprito
The Present Perfect (Il Passato Prossimo)
The passato prossimo is a compound tense that indicates:
facts or actions that were completed in the recent past
Example:
I submitted my homework yesterday.
We watched a movie a month ago.
actions that happened in the past but continue to have ties in the present
Example:
We have not submitted our homework yet.
I have been to Switzerland twice.
The passato prossimo consists of two verbs:
Present indicative form of essere or avere + past participle of the main verb
Examples:
Ho mangiato un sandwich di pollo. I have eaten a chicken sandwich.
Siamo andati alla festa ieri sera. We went to the party last night.
Chapter 18: The Simple Future Tense (Il Futuro Semplice)
The simple future tense is used to indicate actions that will occur in the future. The three
regular verb groups take on similar endings in the simple future. There is, however, a minor
difference in how they are conjugated. The –ere and –ire verb forms are conjugated by
dropping the final –e and adding the indicated endings for the simple future. The –are verbs
are conjugated by dropping the –are, adding –er, and the indicated endings.
Here are the verb endings for the simple future tense:
Subject
Io
Tu
lui/lei
Noi
Voi
Loro
Examples:
English
I
You
he/she
We
You
they/you (formal)
Endings
ò
ai
à
emo
ete
anno
-are verbs:
pensare (to
think)
Io penserò.
Tu penserai.
Lei penserà.
Noi penseremo.
Voi penserete.
Loro
penseranno.
pens +er + verb
ending
I will think.
You will think.
She will think.
We will think.
You (plural will
think.)
They will think.
-ere verbs
scrivere (to
write)
Io scriverò.
Tu scriverai.
Lui scriverà.
Noi scriveremo.
Voi scriverete.
Loro
scriveranno.
scriver + verb
ending
I will write.
You will write.
He will write.
We will write.
You (plural will
write.)
They will write.
-ire verbs
pulire (to clean)
Io pulirò.
Tu pulirai.
Lui pulirà.
Noi puliremo.
Voi pulirete.
Loro puliranno.
pulir + verb
ending
I will clean.
You will clean.
He will clean.
We will clean.
You will clean.
They will clean.
The Reflexive Verbs (I Verbi Riflessivi)
Reflexive verbs are used when the doer (subject and the receiver) (object of the action) are
the same. English has less need for reflexive verbs than Italian because the subject and the
object are easily identifiable. For instance, if you say “I take a bath”, it’s obvious that it’s
yourself that has taken a bath. This is not so in many Italian reflexive verbs. When using a
reflexive verb in Italian, you have to use the appropriate reflexive pronoun before the verb.
Here are the reflexive pronouns:
mi
ti
si
si
ci
vi
myself
yourself
himself, herself,
itself, yourself
(formal)
themselves,
yourselves (formal)
ourselves
yourselves
This is how the subject pronouns match with reflexive pronouns:
io
mi
tu
lui
lei
Lei
noi
voi
loro
Loro
ti
si
si
si
ci
vi
si
si
There are many Italian verbs with reflexive forms and they are easy to recognize as they end
with –si.
Here are common reflexive verbs:
to feel
to get angry
to go to
sleep/fall
asleep
to comb one’s
hair
to sit down
to get up
to greet each
other
sentirsi
arrabbiarsi
addormentarsi
pettinarsi
sedersi
alzarsi
salutarsi
to be bored
to wash oneself
to dry off
to wake up
to put clothes
on
to be called
to put makeup
on
to enjoy oneself
to worry
(about)
to shave
oneself
to read the
paper
to bathe onself
to get dressed
to stop
to prepare
oneself for
to begin
annoiarsi
lavarsi
asciugarsi
svegliarsi
mettersi
chiamarsi
truccarsi
divertirsi
preoccuparsi (di)
farsi la barba
leggere il giornale
farsi il bagno
vestirsi
fermarsi
preparasi per (+
inf)
mettersi a (+ inf)
To form a reflexive sentence or clause, you will need the following:
subject+reflexive pronoun+conjugated verb
To conjugate reflexive verbs, drop the –si ending and use the endings for –are, -ere, and –ire
verbs.
For example, to conjugate “pettinarsi” (to comb one’s hair) in the present tense, drop –si and
use the endings for the verb –are. Thus:
(io) mi pettino
(tu) ti pettini
(lui) si
pettina
(noi) ci pettiniamo
(voi) vi pettinate
(loro/Loro) si pettinano
To conjugate mettersi (to put clothes on, drop the –si ending and use the endings for the verb
–ere. Hence:
(io mi metto
(tu ti metti
(lui si mette
(noi ci mettiamo
(voi vi mettete
(loro/Loro si mettono
To conjugate sentirsi t(to feel, drop the –si ending and use the endings for the verb –ire.
Thus:
(io mi sento
(tu ti senti
(lui si sente
(noi ci sentiamo
(voi vi sentiti
(loro/Loro si sentono
Sentences:
Mi pettino i
capelli.
Mi sento triste
per le vittime.
I comb my hair.
I feel sad for the
victims.
Chapter 19: The Adverbs (Gli Avverbi)
An adverb modifies an adjective, a verb, or another adverb. Adverbs answer the questions
when, where, how, and how often. While English adverbs are usually formed by adding –ly
to adjectives, many Italian adverbs are formed by affixing –mente to the adjective’s feminine
form. Adjectives ending in either –re or –le drop the final –e before adding –mente. Adverbs
are invariable words.
Examples:
Adjective
alta (high)
semplice (simple)
vera (true)
gentile (kind)
regolare (regular)
Placement of Adverbs
Adverb
altamente (highly)
simplicemente (simply)
veramente (truly)
gentilmente (kindly)
regolarmente(regularly)
Adverbs which modify an adjective are placed before the adjective.
Lui è un uomo molto generoso. (He is a very generous man.)
When it modifies a verb, the adverb usually comes after the verb.
Il vecchio uomo cammina lentamente. (The old man walks slowly.)
When it refers to a verb in a compound tense, some adverbs may come between the auxiliary
verb and the conjugated verb.
Non hanno mai mangiato piatti di maiale. (They have never eaten pork dishes.)
When an adverb modifies another adverb, adverbs of quantity come before over adverbs.
Solito dormo molto tardi durante i fine settiman.
(I usually sleep quite late during weekends.)
List of Adverbs
Adverbs of Time
dopo
già
tosto
dapprima
mai
sempre
infine
tardi
adesso
ebbene
oggigiorno
sovente
spesso
presto
ancora
l'indomani
allora
after
already,
at once
at the outset, at
first
ever
ever
finally
late
now
nowadays
nowadays
often
often
soon, early
still, yet
the day after
then
stamattina
stasera
oggi
domani
stanotte
quando
this morning
this night
today
tomorrow
tonight
when
Adverbs of Place
sopra
distante
lontano
davanti
prima
sotto
ovunque
dappertutto
ne
oltre
lì
qui/qua
vi
vicino
fuori
above, on top
away
away
before
before
below,
downstairs
everywere
everywhere
from here/there
further
here
here
here/there
near
outside, outdoors
oltremare
ci
laggiù
là
dove
dentro
overseas
there
there
there
where
within, inside
Adverbs of Quantity
circa
quasi
quanto
abbastanza
meno
poco
più
solo
così
oltremodo
troppo
molto
about,
approximately
almost, nearly
as many, as
much
enough
less
little
more
only
so
too, exceedingly
too, too much
very, very much,
quite
Interrogative Adverbs
come
quanto
quando
dove
perché
come mai
how
how much/many
when
where
why
why
Adverbs of Manner
soprattutto
male
perbene
anche
come
forte
altrimenti
piano
adagio
così
presto
bene
volentieri
above all,
especially
badly
duly
even, too
like, such as
loudly, aloud
otherwise
silently
slowly, carefully
so, thus
soon, quickly
well
willingly
Adverbs of Affirmation/Negation
davvero
appena
sicuro
certo
neanche
forse
ne
giammai
mai
non
no
si
absolutely, really,
indeed
barely, hardly
certainly, sure
certainly, sure
even not
maybe, possibly
neither
never
never
no
not
yes
Chapter 20: Prepositions (Prepozioni)
Prepositions connect words and clauses and are invariable. They express directions,
conditions, and specifications. Italian prepositions may be classified into two categories:
simple prepositions and articulated prepositions. Articulated prepositions are simple
prepositions, which are used with a definite article.
Simple Prepositions (Preposizioni Semplici)
a
con
da
per
in
tra
fra
di
su
verso
at, to, in
with
from, by, since
for, per, via
in, within
between, from
among
between, in
of, from, at
on, up,, upward
about,
approximately
secondo
dopochè
inverso
contro
avanti
dietro
indietro
sotto
oltre
durante
davanti
malgrado
dopo
presso
in avanti
fuori
dentro
senza
according to
after
against
against, in
exchange for
before
behind
behind
below, under
beyond, further
during, while
formerly, before,
ahead
in spite of
later, after, soon
nearby
onwards,
forward
out(side
within, in, into
without
Examples:
Mia madre andò
a New York.
My mother went
to New York.
Vive in Francia.
La sua casa si
trova tra due
edifici alti.
Questo dono è
per Irma.
Il bambino sta
giocando con i
suoi giocattoli.
E ' da Roma.
She lives in
France.
His house is
between two tall
buildings.
This gift is for
Irma.
The boy is
playing with his
toys.
He is from
Rome.
Articulated Prepositions (Preposizioni Articolate
A preposition may at times precede a definite article. In such instances, the prepositions a,
da, su, in, col, and di will contract with the definite article to form one word known as
articulated preposition. Other prepositions may also precede a definite article but will
remain separate. Here is a table showing articulated prepositions:
il
lo/L'
la/l'
i
gli
le
di
del
dello/
dell'
della/
dell'
dei
degli
delle
a
al
allo/all'
alla/all'
ai
agli
alle
da
dal
dallo/
dall'
dalla/
dall'
dai
dagli
dale
nello/
nella/
in
nel
nell'
nell'
nei
negli
nelle
su
sul
sullo/s
ull'
sulla/
sull'
sui
sugli
sulle
con
col
collo/
coll'
colla/
coll'
coi
cogli
colle
per
pel
pei
a+il
Io vado al
museo.
di+la
Chiuse la
porta della
macchina.
di+il
Il mio vicino
di casa
nostra è il
conducente
del bus.
I’m going
to the
museum.
She
closed the
door of
the car.
My
neighbor
is the
driver of
the bus.
Chapter 21: Vocabulary
The Family (La Famiglia)
the dad
the mom
the father
the mother
the grandpa
the grandma
the grandparents
the uncle
the aunt
the husband
the wife
the brother
the sister
the father-in-law
the mother-inlaw
the brother-inlaw
il papa
la mamma
il padre
la madre
il nonno
la nonna
i nonni
lo zio
la zia
il marito
la moglie
il fratello
la sorella
il suocero
la suocera
il cognato
the sister-in-law
the son-in-law
the daughter-inlaw
the nephew
the niece
the cousins
the boyfriend
the girlfriend
the son
the daughter
the fiancé
la cognata
il genero
la nuora
il nipote
la nipote
i cugini, le
cugine
il ragazzo
la ragazza
il figlio
la figlia
il fidanzato, la
fidanzata
The Professions (Le Professioni)
the barber
the librarian
the waiter
the cashier
the chef
the boss
il barbiere
il bibliotecario, la
bibliotecaria
il cameriere, la
cameriera
il cassiere, la
cassiera
il cuoco
il direttore
the doctor
the carpenter
the judge
the construction
worker
the butcher
the mechanic
the mason
the hair dresser
the police
officer
the firefighter
the mail carrier
the president
the professor
the
programmer
the accountant
the secretary
the computer
technician
the veterinarian
the reporter
il dottore, la
dottoressa
il falegname
il giudice
il lavoratore edile
il macellaio
il meccanico
il muratore
il parrucchiere, la
parrucchiera
il poliziotto
il pompiere
il postino
il presidente
il professore, la
professoressa
il programmatore
il ragioniere
il segretario, la
segretaria
il tecnico del
computer
il veterinario
il/la cronista
the dentist
il/la dentista
the farmer
the coach
the artist
the athlete
the actor
the lawyer
l'agricoltore
l'allenatore
l'artista
l'atleta
l'attore
l'avvocato
l'infermiere,
l'infermiera
l'ingegnere
lo scrittore, la
scrittrice
the nurse
the engineer
the writer
the business
person
l'uomo d'affari
Foods (Cibi)
the appetizer
the beans
the beef
the beet
the turkey
the chicken
the fish (cooked
l'antipasto
i fagioli
la carne di
manzo
la barbabietola
il tacchino
il pollo
il pesce (cotto
the pork
the butter
the cheese
the dessert
the egg
the fish (cooked
the flour
the french fries
the sandwich
the hamburger
the hotdog
the popcorn
the honey
the jam
the jelly
the peanut
butter
the ketchup
the mayonnaise
the milk
the juice
the water
the salad
the soup
the mustard
il maiale
il burro
il formaggio
il dolce
l'uovo
il pesce (cotto
la farina
le patatine fritte
il panino
l'hamburger
l'hotdog
i popcorn
il miele
la marmellata
la gelatina (di
frutta
il burro di
noccioline
il ketchup
la maionese
il latte
il succo
l'acqua
l'insalata
la minestra
la mostarda
the nut
the candy
the raisin
the peanut
the sugar
the flour
la noce
la caramella
l'uvetta
la nocciolina
lo zucchero
la farina
Fruits (Frutta)
apricot
pineapple
watermelon
orange
banana
cherry
strawberry
kiwi
raspberry
lemon
mandarin
black cherry
apple
pomegranate
melon
blueberry
albicocca
ananas
anguria
arancia
banana
ciliegia
fragola
kiwi
lampone
limone
mandarino
marena
mela
melagrana
melone
mirtillo
coconut
pear
peach
grapefruit
grape
noce di cocco
pera
pesca
pompelmo
uva
Vegetables (la verdure)
garlic
carrot
onion
lettuce
aubergine
tomato
parsley
chicory
radish
celery
pumpkin
zucchini
aglio
carota
cipolla
lattuga
melanzana
pomodoro
prezzemolo
radicchio
ravanello
sedano
zucca
zucchini
Animals (Gli Animali)
the dog
the kangaroo
il cane
il canguro
the beaver
the horse
the deer
the rabbit
the puppy
the kitten
the cat
the gorilla
the llama
the leopard
the wolf
the panda
the fish
the penguin
the rat
the rhino
the mouse
the whale
the goat
the hyena
the sheep
the monkey
the tiger
the fox
the zebra
the elephant
il castoro
il cavallo
il cervo
il coniglio
il cucciolo
il gattino
il gatto
il gorilla
il lama
il leopard
il lupo
il panda
il pesce
il pinguino
il ratto
il rinoceronte
il topo
la balena
la capra
la iena
la pecora
la scimmia
la tigre
la volpe
la zebra
l'elefante
the
hippopotamus
l'ippopotamo
the chimpanzee
the squirrel
the bear
lo scimpanzé
lo scoiattolo
l'orso
Sports (Gli Sport)
badminton
baseball
soccer
cycling
cricket
football
golf
swimming
ping pong
rugby
tennis
horseback
riding
hockey
basketball
team handball
(il badminton
(il baseball
(il calcio
(il ciclismo
(il cricket
(il football
americano
(il golf
(il nuoto
(il ping pong
(il rugby
(il tennis
(l' equitazione
(l' hockey
(la pallacanestro
(la pallamano
volleyball
the game
the team
sporting event
(la pallavolo
la partita
la squadra
l'evento sportivo
Countries (Paesi)
Argentina
Asia
Australia
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Chile
China
England
France
Germany
India
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Japan
Lebanon
l'Argentina
l'Asia
l'Australia
il Belgio
il Brasile
il Canada
il Cile
la Cina
l'Inghilterra
la Francia
la Germania
l'India
l'Iran
l'Iraq
l'Irlanda
Israele
il Giappone
il Libano
Mexico
New Zealand
Panama
Philippines
Portugal
Russia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United States
Uruguay
Vietnam
il Messico
la Nuova
Zelanda
Panama
le Filippine
il Portogallo
la Russia
la Spagna
la Svezia
la Svizzera
li Stati Uniti
l'Uruguay
il Vietnam
Continents (Continenti)
Africa
Antarctica
Asia
Australia
Europe
North America
South America
l'Africa
l'Antartica
l'Asia
l'Australia
l'Europa
l'America del
Nord
l'America del
Sud
Vehicles (Veicoli)
the truck
the taxi
the train
the bicycle
the car
the motorcycle
the airplane
the helicopter
il camion
il taxi / il tassì
il treno
la bicicletta
la macchina
la motocicletta
l'aeroplano
l'elicottero
Appliances (Elettrodomestici)
the freezer
the iron
the oven
the fridge
the blender
the microwave
the toaster
the dishwasher
the washer
the dryer
the water
heater
il congelatore
il ferro
il forno
il frigorífero
il frullatore
il microonde
il tostapane
la lavastoviglie
la lavatrice
l'asciugatrice
lo scaldaacqua
The Weather (Il Meteo)
hot
it's sunny
it's windy
cold
the sun
the thermometer
the tornado
the fog
the snow
the cloud
the rain
the temperature
the flood
the humidity
the hurricane
foggy
cloudy
windy
caldo
c'è il sole
c'è vento
freddo
il sole
il termometro
il tornado
la nebbia
la neve
la nuvola
la pioggia
la temperatura
l'inondazione
l'umidità
l'uragano
nebbioso
nuvoloso
ventoso
Nature (Natura)
the flower
il fiore
the river
the garden
the lake
the sea
the soil
the mountain
range
the plant
the shore
the cliff
the tree
the waterfalls
the herb
the mountains
the grass (lawn
the weed
the ocean
the garden
(vegetable
il fiume
il giardino
il lago
il mare
il suolo
la catena
montuosa
la pianta
la riva
la rupe
l'albero
le cascate
le erbe
le montagne
l'erba (il prato
l'erbaccia
l'oceano
l'orto
Furniture (i mobili
the garbage can
the sofa
the bed
il bidone della
spazzatura
il divano
il letto
the piano
the table
the armchair
the desk
the chair
il pianoforte
il tavolo
la poltrona
la scrivania
la sedia
Outside (Fuori
the window
the chimney
the bush
the garage
the sidewalk
the brick
the wall
the porch
the lawn
the roof
the driveway
the door
the patio
Places to Visit
el finestrino
il camino
il cespuglio
il garage
il marciapiede
il mattone
il muro
il portico
il prato
il tetto
il vialetto (del
garage
la porta
la terrazza
Il centro
commercial
L'agenzia di
viaggio
Il centro città
Il ristorante
La stazione di
polizia
Il parco
Il monument
Il centro storico
I bagni pubblici
L'ospedale
Il municipio
La periferia
Il bar
the shopping
center
the travel
agency
the town center
the restaurant
the police
station
the park
the monument
the historic
center
the public
restrooms
the hospital
the town hall
the suburb
the bar
Conclusion
I hope this book was able to help you to communicate confidently and accurately in the
Italian language.
It’s time for you to take your learning to the higher level by taking up advanced language
courses, reading Italian books and novels, watching Italian movies, and speaking regularly
to a native Italian speaker.
I wish you the best of luck!
To your success,
Henry Ray
Bonus: Preview Of “German: Learn German in 21 DAYS! –
A Practical Guide To Make German Look Easy! EVEN For
Beginners”
Nouns (Noune)
Nouns refer to the names given to persons, places, animals, things, or ideas. German nouns
are easily identifiable because all begin with a capital letter regardless of their position in a
sentence.
Examples:
Sie hat 4 Hunde und 2 Katzen. -> She has four dogs and two cats.
Er ist ein Fahrer verantwortlich. -> He is a responsible driver.
Gender of Nouns
German nouns can have any one of these three genders: feminine, masculine, or neutral. The
gender of a noun is indicated by the definite or indefinite article that accompanies the noun.
As a new language learner, the best way to remember a noun’s gender is to memorize the
article and the noun together. Following is a table of definite and indefinite articles for each
gender.
Gender
Masculine
Definite
Articles
der
Indefinite
Articles
ein
Feminine
Neutral
die
das
eine
ein
It will be very difficult to tell a noun’s gender by sight when you’re just starting to learn the
German language but you can make use of some guidelines to help you identify a noun’s
gender.
Masculine Nouns
1. Male persons and animals
der Junge -> the boy
der Mann -> the man
der Vater -> the father
der Lehrer -> the male teacher
der Sohn -> son
der Stier -> bull
2. Seasons, months, days of the week, most weather elements
der März ->March
der Freitag -> Friday
der Samstag -> Saturday
der Tag -> day
der Frühling -> spring
der Herbs -> autumn
der Regen -> rain
der Schnee -> snow
3. Compass Points
der Süden -> South
der Norden -> North
der Westen -> West
der Osten -> East
4. Nouns ending in -ich, -ig, -ling, -us, -or, -er, -ant
der Teppich -> carpet
der Käfig -> cage
der Pfennig -> penny
der Schmetterling -> butterfly
der Kommunismus -> communism
der Zirkus -> circus
der Tutor -> tutor
der Motor -> motor
der Kugelschreiber -> ballpoint pen
der Toaster -> toaster
der Lieferant -> supplier
der Elefant -> elephant
5. Most nouns that end in –en
der Ofen -> oven
der Garten -> garden
6. Car names although the German word for car, das Auto, is a feminine noun
der Porsche
der Volkswagen
der Toyota
7. Many non-German rivers
der Nil -> Nile River
der Mississippi -> Mississippi River
8. Weak nouns, also called masculine n-nouns
This group of masculine nouns follow special declension rules besides inflecting their
articles. Weak nouns add an –en or –n in all cases except in the singular nominative case.
Those that don’t refer to persons or animals take on an additional–s ending in the singular
genitive case.
Example:
der Held (hero)
Singular -> Plural
Nominative -> der Held -> die Helden
Accusative -> den Helden -> die Helden
Dative -> dem Helden -> den Helden
Genitive -> des Helden -> der Helden
Der Fels -> (rock)
Nominative -> der Fels -> die Felsen
Accusative -> der Felsen -> die Felsen
Dative -> dem Felsen -> den Felsen
Genitive -> des Felsens -> der Felsen
Common German Masculine Nouns
English
amber
atheist
boar
boy
bull
carbonate
cellar
diamond
emerald
farmer
father
grandad
hydrogen
man
optimist
oxygen
pianist
plate
policeman
rosy quartz
German
der Bernstein
der Atheist
der Eber
der Junge
der Stier
der Kohlenstoff
der Keller
der Diamant
der Smaragd
der Bauer
der Vater
der Opa
der Wasserstoff
der Mann
der Optimist
der Sauerstoff
der Pianist
der Teller
der Polizist
der Rosenquarz
ruby
der Rubin
stallion
TV
Uncle
der Hengst
der Fernseher
der Onkel
Feminine Nouns
Female persons and animals
die Mutter -> mother
die Schwester -> sister
die Frau -> woman
die Ganz -> goose
die Kuh -> cow
Nouns ending in -ei, -ung, -schaft, -tät, , –heit, keit, -nis
die Malerei -> painting
die Bücherei -> library
die Bedeutung -> meaning
die Ehrung -> ceremony
die Wirtschaft -> economy
die Wissenschaft -> science
die Elektrizität -> electricity
die Universität -> university
die Schönheit -> beauty
die Dummheit -> stupidity
die Eitelkeit -> vanity
die Schwierigkeit -> difficulty
die Erkenntnis -> knowledge
Exception: der Papagei (parrot)
Nouns which have foreign origin ending in –ie, -ion, -enz, -anz, -ik, or –ur
die Magie -> magic
die Biologie -> biology
die Funktion -> function
die Situation -> situation
die Frequenz -> frequency
die Diskrepanz -> discrepancy
die Toleranz -> tolerance
die Musik -> music
die Ethik -> ethic
die Kultur -> culture
die Prozedur -> procedure
Most nouns that end in –e
die Karte -> card
die Straße -> road
die Blume -> flower
Exceptions: der Name (name), der Käse (cheese) , das Auge (eye), der Kunde (customer),
das Ende (end), der Affe (monkey), other animals names with –e ending, der Biologe
(biologist) and other male designations.
Most German rivers
die Mosel
die Weser
die Donau
die Oder
die Elbe
Exceptions: der Main, der Rhein
Cardinal numbers
die Dreizehn
die Million
die Eins
Exception: das Hundert, das Tausend
Common German Feminine Nouns
English
childhood
construction
figure
five
flower
friendship
magic
palm tree
quality
strawberry
tribute
German
die Kindheit
die Montage
die Figur
die Fünf
die Blume
die Freundschaft
die Magie
die Palme
die Qualität
die Erdbeere
die Ehrung
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